Twist of Fate
by outlawqueenoncers
Summary: What if the works of the infertility potion Regina drank in the past were reversed in Camelot? Post 5X08
1. Chapter 1

Regina, standing in the sterile white hall outside the delivery room, can feel a sense of anxiety take it's place in her stomach. Every second, her eyes make their way to that hospital room door in front of her, and a pang of sadness hits her. She can't help but think of how she's gotten to where she is now.

"I can't believe it's come to this. Am I really helping Zelena?" Regina scoffs staring intently at the hospital's pristine floors her reflection staring back at her.

"It's the right thing to do Regina," her stepdaughter reassures her.

As quick as they came out, Regina can feel the support in Snow's words.

"Are you ready to meet the newest member of your family?" Snow asks the brunette, empathy evident in her voice.

"Honestly...?" Regina inhales slowly, "I don't know," she says as she exhales, on the verge of tears.

Her eyes are now rimmed red and glossy, and the brunette looks away quickly, drying any evidence of her tears with a quick swipe of her hand across both of her cheeks.

 _I have to be strong. I have to get over it, It'll never happen,_ Regina tells herself. To Regina, it felt like just yesterday she was swallowing the contents of the potion that would take away her ability to conceive a child; or any children for that matter.

It's then that she hears the cry of the newborn child pierce the silence around her, and she can't hold in her tears any longer. She instantly walks as quickly as she can out of that hall, making her way to the bathroom, for the fear of being vulnerable, for the fear of anyone seeing her with her walls down.

She thinks she hears Snow call for her, but just continues to walk. She feels as if she's been submerged underwater, like every sound around her is now muffled. She eventually finds the hospital's bathroom, and makes her way into one of the unoccupied stalls, slamming it shut as she enters. She begins pacing the bathroom floor, thoughts of sorrow and jealousy overtaking her mind. She begins to daydream about what it would be like if she was the one to conceive and eventually give birth to Robin's child. How it would feel to carry them, feel them move inside of her. But as quickly as the thought enters her mind, she pushes it away because she knows that that can never be. That she will never be able to give Robin children, and it breaks her heart to pieces.

She holds on to the porcelain sink until her knuckles turn white, willing for these thoughts to leave her mind. But they don't, and she doesn't think they ever will. It's as if they have lived inside of her mind since that night at the bar in New York, and they are just now coming to the surface. She looks at her reflection in the mirror. Staring back at her is the face of a woman who has lost much, but has also gained much throughout the years. This woman who has slowly began to pick up the pieces needed to become a better person than what she was decades earlier. A sense of nausea overtakes her, and she quickly turns on the faucet, splashing her face with water, hoping that the cold can help her clear her mind and calm her nerves. She rests her hands on the porcelain sink swaying back and forth inhaling and exhaling in a calm manner, hoping to force the nausea away.

As she feels her nerves drift away. she turns off the water, dries her face, steps out of the stall, and makes her way towards the delivery room, an unwavering hint of sorrow still remaining inside of her. _But she has to overcome this_ Regina thinks to herself. As she approaches the room she realizes Mary Margaret is nowhere near the room like she was previously.

Regina, seeing the delivery room's door is open, nervously approaches it. She is under the door frame, and is about to knock on it, when her eyes catch sight of a small bundle in Robin's arms swaddled in pink fabric. Her heart instantly skips a beat.

"Robin," the brunette utters from the doorway, a forced smile plastered on her face.

Robin quickly looks up at Regina with tears of joy in his eyes.

"Regina... I have a daughter," he chokes out, smiling, as the tears start streaming down his face.

She walks into the room hoping that Robin cannot see through her facade.

"That's wonderful" she replies approaching him and the tiny baby girl held protectively in her father's arms.

As soon as she lays eyes on that baby with her button nose and 'o' shaped mouth, her smile becomes genuine. This baby is pure, and innocent, and ultimately, she looks just like her father; well, her facial features, to Regina's relief. The small pink cap covers the baby's head concealing any hair that the baby possesses, and she hasn't opened her eyes yet.

It's then that it happens.

A blinding headache pulses in her head like a hammer beating against her skull. She can hear Robin's voice repeating her name, until he is yelling as black spots begin to enter her vision. She looks at him seeing double before she collapses onto the hospital room floor. The last thing she sees is Robin handing the baby over to Whale, catching her before she makes contact with the cold floor, and the mischievous smirk on her sister's face before she is succumbed into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**These characters belong to the wonderful creators of OUAT, Adam Horowitz & Eddy Kitsis **

* * *

Regina awakes with a start. An incessant beeping instantly meeting her ears; she can hear it's coming from her right side.

 _What the hell happened?_

She opens her eyes slowly, a blinding light instantly clouding her vision. As she adjusts her eyes to the florescent light, she realizes she is in a hospital. She can feel the plastic-like feeling of the sheets underneath her as the pungent smell of antiseptics meets her nostrils. She feels a quick pain shoot up her right arm and she quietly grunts in pain, lifting her right hand to her face, examining it. She has a tube in her arm, she can see a clear liquid going from a bag above her, into her body, more specifically, her bloodstream. A dull ache begins to pulse throughout her skull. She moves her hand, pressing it to her forehead, and softly moans in pain.

That's when it all comes back to her.

Her collapsing on the hospital's tiled floor, the baby, Robin's look of concern as he held her, Zelena's devilish smirk.

She instantly shoots up in the hospital bed with wide eyes.

 _Robin. The baby._

 _What the hell did Emma do?_ she thinks as she digs her nails into her palms breathing heavily in anger. That's when she hears a movement coming from her left side. She quickly turns her head to the left to see a pair of familiar ocean blue eyes staring back at her dark brown one's with concern.

"Hey, hey," he reassures her, "everything's okay."

As she looks at Robin, eyes wide and filled with fear, a silence fills the hospital room.

That's when she begins rambling, tears of anger begin to well up in her eyes.

"Robin, what the hell happened?! Is the baby okay? Where's Emma! I swear if she touched that baby-"

"-Regina breathe. The baby is completely fine. She is fast asleep in her bassinet in the delivery room. They had to run a few more tests because of the escalated pregnancy," Robin reassures her, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Are _you_ okay?" Robin asked concern evident in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know what happened. One minute I'm looking at the baby, and the next I have a blinding headache, and I'm fainting," Regina replies, holding her head in her hands.

" I was so scared when you fainted in my arms, Regina. I didn't know what was wrong. I just kept screaming your name hoping that you would come back. I yelled at Whale to help you, and he told me to bring you in here." he says.

"Whatever they injected you with, it seems to be helping you, yes?" he asks, his eyes not meeting hers.

"Oh yeah, definitely. " Regina says, exhaling slowly, "It was one the worst pains I've ever felt. Robin...It was like a hammer was beating against my skull, like some force was pulling at me, and then everything just went black." she replies her eyes closed, remembering all of the pain she had endure throughout her entire life up to now; both emotional and physical.

"Did Whale say what it was? How it happened? Why it happened?" she asks, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"He had no idea what it was," Robin states, seriousness clouding his tone, "he said it 'wasn't anything that he could treat' whatever that means." he says.

"Magic," Regina mumbles to herself.

"What?" Robin says, confusion clouding his tone.

" _Magic_ ," Regina says again, gripping Robin's bicep like a lifeline.

"Love, what about magic?" Robin asks, grabbing the hand that was gripping his bicep in his, softly rubbing her knuckles with his calloused fingertips.

"Where's Zelena?" Regina grumbles angrily under her breath.

"Wait. What does this have to do with Zelena?" Robin asks his brows furrowed, and lines of confusion etched on his face.

Ignoring her soulmate, Regina yanks the clear tubes from her arm, with a quick gasp of pain, and rips back the thin hospital sheet covering her body. Seeing that she is wearing an uncomfortable light blue hospital gown, she quickly scoffs in disgust, waving her hand in the air, and is engulfed in purple smoke. She reappears in the dark blue zip up dress, and black leather jacket she was wearing earlier.

She stands up and starts making her way to the hospital door when Robin stops her with a hand on her arm.

"Regina, what are you doing?" he asks her. She can hear the warning in his tone.

Regina throws her head behind her shoulder, "I'm going to have a chat with my sis," Regina says, a sly smile slowly making it's way onto her face.

"Regina-" Robin starts.

"-What?" Regina snaps, interrupting him.

She is standing under the door frame, facing away from her soulmate.

"She's not here..." he says slowly.

"What?" Regina asks, her tone becoming serious.

She quickly turns to face Robin, "Well then where the hell is she?!" Regina asks, throwing her hands up in the air.

Silence floods the hospital room.

"Robin.. Where did she go?" She asks, slowly walking towards him.

"Emma took her. After you collapsed," he pauses, "She came in, threw the doctor against the wall using her magic, and poofed her and Zelena away in a cloud of grey smoke." he replies.

Regina glances up at him, a look of surprise etched on her face.

"She wasn't after the baby?" Regina asks walking toward him.

"No. Not at all" Robin reassures her.

Her brows instantly furrow, her lips creating a menacing look of evil.

Lines of confusion instantly appear on Robin's forehead as she heads to the room's exit again.  
"Regina what's going on?" he asks as she continues to walk, her heels on the cold tile floor causing a loud _clack_ to sound with each step she took.

She stops, hesitates, and turns around to face Robin, a look of evil taking over her facial expression.

"No one hurts my sister, but me," she replies as she disappears into a cloud of purple smoke.

* * *

 **This wasn't my best :P Promise it'll be more angsty and dramatic next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

****Camelot****

 _No sound could be heard save the muffled sobs of the ex-Evil Queen in her bed chambers._

 _The silk pillowcase she was crying into was now soaked with her tears after hours on end of sobbing_

 _No one knew she was here. She had lied to everyone, telling them that she wasn't feeling well just to get a moment alone._

 _While in Granny's diner earlier in the day, Zelena made a huge scene, gasping and saying that the baby had kicked, ultimately Robin hadn't taken his eyes off of Zelena the entire day, and Regina couldn't stand to watch one more second of it. So she made the excuse that she wasn't feeling well, pressed a kiss to his lips, and left the diner without another word._

How could I be so naive? I was such an idiot to think that life wouldn't kick me in the teeth again, _Regina thought to herself._

 _Her red velvet dress was now ruffled, and her makeup was running in black streaks down her face._

 _It was then that she heard a knock and the bedchambers wooden door creak open._

 _Someone was entering the room._

 _As quickly as she could, Regina swiped both hands across her cheeks, hoping to scare away any trace of tears and swiveled around to face the bedchambers door._

" _Regina, I brought you some tea, hoping it could make you feel better-" she heard a light voice say and then stop._

 _Snow. Of course it was Snow._

 _Even after all these years, she still is always the caretaker, Regina thought._

 _Snow came in with a tray, glass china sitting on top, steam coming out of both mugs._

 _Tea, the brunette presumed._

 _Snow stopped to take in her stepmother's appearance; ruffled attire, red rimmed, bloodshot eyes,_

 _Snow quickly set the tray down on the closest flat surface she could find, and made her way to her stepmother's side._

" _Regina," she said a sympathetic tone overtaking her voice._

 _She sat on the plush comforter._

" _Have you been crying?" she asked in shock._

 _Regina looked away in shame,"Snow go away, I'm fine. It's nothing of your concern," she replies bitterly._

" _Regina," Snow grabbed the brunettes hand between both of hers, and Regina let her._

" _I know when you're lying," Snow stated sadly looking at her friends saddened face._

 _Of course Snow could see through Regina's facade, she could see through the walls she always put up when she didn't want to let anyone in, when she didn't want to be vulnerable._

" _What's wrong Regina?" Snow asked._

 _Regina exhaled slowly, and looked into Snow's eyes._

" _Snow...I made a decision..in the past," a silence slowly started filling the expanse of the room._

 _A single tear slipped from Regina's eye and landed on the soft comforter they were lying on._

 _Regina started again, "I was young and naive..my mother," she wiped the tear away with a swipe of her hand, "my mother came to me on the anniversary of Daniel's death...she told me that she was going to find my soulmate, 'the man with the lion tattoo' Tinkerbell called him," Regina gave Snow a sad smile._

" _The man with the lion tattoo is….Robin," Regina said looking at Snow, "my mother never found him, she found the Sheriff of Nottingham," Regina looks down a look of disgust painted on her face, "-and stuck a lion tattoo on his arm with magic, claiming he was my soulmate."_

 _Snow looked at her friend with wide eyes fearing the worst. Anything involving Cora was bound to end in disaster as Snow knew very well._

 _Regina inhaled slowly, "I ended up finding out that she wanted me to have a child," Regina states with a sad smile._

" _She wanted me to have a child, then she was going to poison me afterwards, killing me to gain more power," the brunette says with tears streaking down her face._

" _But...I created a potion to keep that from ever happening," Regina said looking in front of her; more tears began pouring down her cheeks._

" _I wasn't going to give my mother what she wanted. I wasn't going to let her win," Regina stated bitterly._

" _My mother..sh-she didn't think I was strong enough to do it. I still remember that day like it was yesterday...my mother asked me if I thought it would make me strong to hurt myself. I said 'it does if it hurts you more'._

 _The pain was excruciating Snow. It was like my insides were burning, I could feel any opportunity for me to have a child just float away that night..and it was all because of me. Because I was naive and vengeful, and all I wanted to do was hurt my mother." she said._

 _Snow looked at her friend with wide eyes, a hand covering her mouth in shock, tears running down her cheeks._

" _Now I-I have to face the consequences of what happened that night for the rest of my life," Regina said._

 _Her body began racking with sobs. Her hands covered her mouth, muffling her cries._

 _Snow gathered Regina in a friendly hug, "I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically._

" _Regina...did you ever tell Robin any of this?" Snow asked curiously._

 _Regina sniffles and wipes her tears from under her eyes, breathing in and out slowly._

 _She clears her throat._

" _No. He already has a baby on the way, and I don't wanna burden him with the fact that the person he_ loves _can't even give him children," she states, her voice hoarse._

" _But is that something you would want, Regina? To have biological children?" Snow asks her eyes landing on the brunettes saddened face._

" _Yes...I mean, I think so. Robin and I haven't really talked about it, but yes I would." Regina says her eyes filled with sadness._

 _Snow grabs Regina's hand in hers, looking into her eyes._

" _Well then I will help you find a way to cure this" she said, smiling._

 _Regina looked at Snow with wide eyes, "What?" she asked in shock._

" _It's happened to me before, and I was able to find a cure. Which means I can definitely find a cure for you as well," Snow states smiling brightly at her stepmother._

" _Wait…what?" Regina said, seriousness seeping into her tone. "Th-this has happened to you before?"_

" _Yes. David and I were going to meet at his mother's cottage, when I was kidnapped by one of King George's guards. They brought me to his palace, and the king told me that he had a true love of his own, but they could not have children, because his wife was enchanted by an infertility curse," Snow looked at Regina then. "He offered me a drink of water..and then he told me that the water that I had drank had made me barren. I still remember what he told me, 'Family is everything, my dear. Losing all hope of having one…There is no greater misery'," Snow looked down, a sad expression plastered on her face._

 _Regina was just staring at her friend with tears welling up in her eyes._

" _How did you reverse it?" Regina asked curiously._

 _Snow cleared her throat quickly, "Lake Nostos," she stated simply._

" _What about it?" Regina asked looking at Snow, confusion in her eyes._

" _The water from Lake Nostos. It has magical properties. It's said that it can return to you something that was once lost." she said._

" _My fertility" Regina says in shock, looking up at Snow with wide eyes._

" _Yes," Snow says smiling._

 _She grabs Regina's hand tightly in hers, "However long it takes me, I will find you that water, I promise you. You deserve to have the opportunity to have children. You are also a wonderful mother."_

 _Regina looks at her stepdaughter with wide eyes._

" _Snow...thank you," she says as tears of joy begin well up in her eyes._

 ** _I would love to know your thoughts on this chapter! Please review, follow/favorite! Thank you :D (PS: SnowQueen brotp give me life)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I am so sorry for the super long wait. I've just been busy with schoolwork and extracurricular activities. I know I promised I would post a chapter two weekends ago, but I just didn't have the time. But I hope you guys reallylike this chapter. It's one of my longer ones :)**

 **Again, these characters, and some of these lines within this chapter came from the amazing creators of Once Upon A Time: Adam Horowitz, and Eddy Kitsis.**

* * *

She wasn't in that much of a hurry to save her sister. Or what she'd really considered to be _saving_. From deceiving Robin in the most vile way imaginable, to using her own daughter as a pawn in her scheme of revenge, Zelena deserved everything Emma gave her. But at the end of the day, Regina was a hero now.

 _And heroes don't kill_ , Regina thought to herself.

As the purple smoke dissipated around her, she began walking the lengthy halls of the hospital, towards the exit, when she heard a small whimper come from the delivery room she had just been in hours earlier. She stood underneath its doorway, looking around the room; her eyes trailed over the light green colored walls, and landed on Robin's daughter swaddled in a pink blanket, whimpering in her bassinet that sat on the right side of the hospital bed.

No one else was in the room, save an attending nurse in pink scrubs who was maintaining a machine on the opposite side of the room.

The nurse started walking towards the baby, about to calm her down, when Regina stopped her with a reassuring smile saying, "It's fine. I can handle this."

Although she was ultimately speaking to herself. She hadn't realized it until now, but she hadn't held a child, let alone soothed one in almost fourteen years.

Realizing that the nurse had left, Regina slowly began inching closer to the baby, her mouth twitching up into a sad smile as her eyes trailed over every inch of the child's face, from her button nose, to her dimples passed down from Robin no doubt.

She was never going to have this...but she knew she had to live with it.

She knew that she had to keep telling herself that everything was fine, that she had Henry, and Roland, and Robin, a new gorgeous niece, and Emma and the Charmings, and she didn't need anything else, that she was content as she was.

But she knew that that wasn't true.

Regina broke out of her reverie as she realized the baby's cries were only growing louder.

Trusting her maternal instinct, Regina quickly walked closer to the bassinet and picked the baby up, carefully scooping her into her arms.

The baby's eyes still weren't open, and it's been almost three hours, which made worry cloud Regina's thoughts, but she quickly shrugged it off.

 _This was probably normal_ , Regina thought.

She didn't know much about newborns anyway. She had been given Henry almost two weeks after he'd been born.

As she began rocking the baby girl back and forth in her arms to help calm her, Regina couldn't help but think.

 _Why would someone want to deceive this child? How could anyone be so cruel? So wicked?_

In mid thought, Regina heard a low shuffling behind her, and quickly turned around to see what it was. Realizing it was just the nurse that had been in the room previously, walking towards the machine again, Regina quickly let out a breathe of relief she didn't realize she was holding.

"Is everything okay, Ms. Mills?" the nurse asked politely, seeing Regina's face full of worry.

"Yes. Thank you. Everything's fine," Regina replied, a small forced smile making its way onto her face.

It was when the nurse left, that she focused all of her attention on the beautiful baby girl that lay in her arms, and began speaking to her.

"I won't let anyone hurt you. Not even your own mother—I really shouldn't be saying that. You shouldn't have a cruel mother in the first place. No child deserves that."

As Regina rocked the baby, she stared at the pea green hospital room wall in front of her, thinking about her own mother, and how she abused her with her magic and her words.

A single tear ran down her right cheek.

"We're quite the same, you and I," Regina sniffled as she continued rocking the baby.

"We were both used as a pawn in a game larger than both of us. My mother wanted power, and yours wants revenge...against your Aunt...me."

It was about a minute of silence and continuous rocking before she continued to speak.

"Crazy, right? I didn't even have time to process your existence, and you were born in a matter of months," Regina said with a sad smile as the little girl stuck her tongue out wetting her lips.

It was then that Regina began whispering lightly to the baby girl in her arms.

"But I promise you. I will protect you with everything I've got. And if your mother wants to take you away from your father, she'll have to get through your father and I first." Regina said placing a light kiss on the baby's forehead, and closing her eyes.

It was then that a blur of images began to flood her mind—images completely unknown to her. One minute she could see herself in the dress she came back to Storybrooke in—she was in a room crying angrily and yelling at someone—the next she was near a Well with Mary Margaret and she was crying and smiling.

The images stopped abruptly, and Regina was brought back to reality in an instant.

The familiar green colored walls greeted her, and the hospital bed sat in the middle of the room where it was before.

 _What the hell was that?_

She stood wide eyed as she realized.

 _Those were memories from Camelot._

But why were they given to her when she kissed her niece?

She quickly looked down to see if the baby was hurt in anyway.

Examining the baby's face, Regina realized that the baby's eyes were wide open.

She knew those eyes.

Those were _her_ eyes.

Every time she looked in the mirror that exact pair of dark brown eyes stared back at her.

Going into shock, Regina carefully laid the baby back in her bassinet.

She turned towards the hospital bed and held on to the mattress until her knuckles turned white, trying to comprehend how this could have happened—what it was that even happened.

 _What was happening in those memories? Why does the baby have my eyes?_

 _Both her parents' eyes are blue...How could she be born with dark brown eyes, let alone my eyes? I mean Mother's eyes were brown, maybe that was passed down to the baby?_ Regina thought, confusion painting her features, her brows were furrowed, and her mouth set in a thin line.

Not knowing much about genetics, she chose to shrug off the problematic thoughts jumbling around in her head, and took a few calm breaths. She shook off the weird feeling, and stepped out of the room. With a quick wave of her hand over the delivery room door; light magic shooting out of her hands as she put a protection spell on the room. After doing so, she began walking throughout the halls of the hospital looking for a nurse to watch the baby before leaving to go get Zelena.

She quickly found the same nurse clad in pink scrubs that was in the hospital room earlier, standing by the receptionists desk.

She told her that she was leaving to attend to an urgent matter and that they needed a nurse in the baby's room at all times. She told her that she put a protection spell up, and only her, Robin and the nurses could enter the room.

With another wave of her hand, Regina disappeared, poofing herself in front of Emma's house. Trying to clear the thoughts jumbling around in her head just minutes earlier, she shook her head forcefully, until the only thing she could focus her mind on was rescuing Zelena from Emma. Even if she could admit that she wanted Zelena gone, she wasn't going to let that baby grow up without a mother.

She began walking down to the sidewalk, towards the house, the only sound that could be heard was the clack of her heels against the pavement, and the howling wind as it blew in gusts around her. The silence was soon interrupted when she heard the familiar low and anger-filled toned voice she knew all too well coming from her right side.

"Regina, what are you doing?"

Regina looked to her right.

 _Ugh not the two idiots_ , Regina thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

Slowly, she turned around throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Regina stopped in front of Emma's white picket fence as she glared at both Mary-Margaret and David.

"Obviously rescuing my insane sister from the daughter that you couldn't control-"

Snow interrupted her.

"Hey! She's the Dark One! It's not our fault she didn't entrust us with the dagger," Snow said glaring at Regina, her eyes clouded with anger.

"Who knows what she's doing right now?!" Regina protested, getting louder by the second.

"Emma could be doing God knows what to my sister at the moment. I don't want to see another child have it's parent taken away by magic!" Regina yelled.

Everything turned quiet.

After a few beats of silence, Snow decided to speak.

"How can Emma even destroy light magic using Zelena?" Snow asked curiously.

"Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is, no one hurts my sisters but me." Regina said, turning around, and opening the white picket fence forcefully, approaching the house.

Snow looked at Regina. She knew that look. That was that look that Regina had before she was about to fight.

"Regina, what exactly are you going to do to Emma once you find her?" Snow asked.

Regina could hear the warning in her stepdaughters' tone.

"Simple. I'm going to show her what dark magic _really_ looks like," she said a hint of evil already spreading across her features.

Snow and Charming looked at her in shock.

That's when David spoke up.

"Regina she's still our daughter!" he replied in confusion.

"We can't go to _war_ with her," Snow added.

If you don't have the stomach for this-" Regina replied simply, strength hidden behind her words.

Snow interrupted her quickly, screaming forcefully, "I'm not going to hurt her! Regina I thought you two were friends! Why would you want to hurt her like this!" she yelled.

"Snow. This is exactly why she gave _me_ that dagger! She knew I am the only one that could do what _has_ to be done! And as for her being my friend, I have to put my own feelings aside, and do what's right for the town! Isn't that was you heroes keep telling me? Do what's right for the largest amount of people?!" she yelled.

Snow looked at Regina, a mix of sadness and pride showing in her olive green eyes.

"You don't even have the dagger, how is she going to listen to you?" Snow asked.

"I don't know. But I will find a way. Now stand back. Or I'll make you stand back." Regina said.

It pained her to say these words but she knew she had to say them in order for them not to go inside. It was too dangerous.

But Snow was stubborn and such an optimist _as always_ , Regina thought.

"No. We're coming with you. And not only will we stop her, we will _save_ her," Snow stated smiling triumphantly.

"Snow _no_. It's too dangerous. I have magic and David has a gun, and with all due respect, you have nothing besides your optimism. Do you really think that a gun and a set of hope speeches are a match for dark magic?" Regina asked, a look on her face that read: _Are you really that stupid? '_

" _Fine._ But we are at least standing here until you get back." Snow stated stubbornly glaring at Regina.

"Call us if you need us, and _be careful_ ," Charming added, with a reassuring hand on Regina's shoulder and a pair of dark blue pleading eyes.

"I always am," Regina grinned softly in reassurance as her hand came up to touch David's on her shoulder.

As quickly and quietly as she could, Regina approached the front white wooden steps of Emma's stone grey house. The loud _clack_ of her heels emitted throughout the nighttime air.

Regina cringed at the loud sound.

She quickly slid both of her heels off, and set them on the lawn, again attempting to complete the rest of the wooden stairs.

As she began walking up the stairs and no sign of noise sounded, save the chirps of the crickets, Regina breathed a small sigh of relief, and made a bee-line for the front door as soon as she had gotten to the last step of the staircase, now on the porch.

She slowly looked in the window to the right of the door, and saw that there was no one there. Everything was empty. The living was empty, the kitchen was polished, and spotless.

Regina stood there confusion clouding her features.

She quickly waved her hand and Henry's scarf appeared in her hand.

Regina didn't want to take her chances getting blasted by a protection spell again.

She gathered the red and navy blue striped scarf in her hand, and attempted to open the door. Hearing the soft click of the door handle as the pulled it downwards, she grinned as she opened the door.

Regina silently prayed for this to go as planned. She was just going to take Zelena and go. _Simple_ Regina thought.

She walked inside the house. Everything was silent. It was dark the only light coming from the door in front of her. The door that led down to the basement that she went down to with Robin, Hook, and Belle. She quietly closed the front door, with a _click_ and walked closer to the basement door. There were multiple locks on the door. She didn't know how she was going to get down there. She swiftly snapped her fingers the scarf disappearing into thin air.

She put an ear to the door waiting a couple of minutes, trying to listen to any voices that made themselves known down in the basement.

Nothing.

With a sense of panic, Regina shot her hand out and blasted the door with her magic, purple light hitting the basement door.

Nothing.

 _This door needs light magic_ , Regina thought.

She gathered up all of the light magic inside of her as she could, thinking of all of the good things that have ever happened to her, thought of Henry, and Robin, and the baby, and the Charming's and attempted to unlock the door, a shimmer of purple light leaving her hands and hitting the door unlocking all of the locks. She heard them _click_ and move to the right.

She breathed out a sigh of relief.

She grabbed the gold-toned doorknob in her left palm, and softly pushed the door inwards. Thankfully there was no squeak that echoed in the cave of a basement.

As quickly and quietly as she could, she walked down the stoned steps down towards the basement the cold of the stone biting into her feet. As soon as she got down in the basement she was greeted with the exasperated sigh of Zelena. She was sitting on the floor leaning against the stone wall, in nothing but her hospital gown, and a cardigan that was thrown over her shoulders, a chain around her ankle anchoring her to the ground.

"Hey Regi! Glad you could finally make it!" Zelena said, giving Regina an eyeroll.

Regina looked at Zelena in confusion.

"Why the hell are you being so loud? Isn't Emma here?" Regina whispered harshly.

"Nope. She went to go find her little boy toy. I have no idea what she sees in him," she stated, a look of confusion on her face.

"Okay, enough of this. I'm here to take you back to the hospital." Regina rolled her eyes, and waved her hand, using her magic to split the chains holding Zelena to the ground, in two.

"Why are you going to help me?" Zelena asked astonished.

"You're lucky I'm not the Evil Queen anymore sis. I would've killed you in a heartbeat. I would've made you suffer for what you've done To Robin, _to your own daughter_. But I'm not letting that baby grow up without a mother, so I won't kill you," Regina said looking at Zelena.

"Hopefully you can find it your _heart_ , if you even _have_ one, to not become our mother. I swear on my life, that if you use this baby as a pawn in your revenge against me, I will make you pay. I will do things to you that you can't even imagine." Regina said leaning closer to Zelena's face.

Bright blue eyes met chocolate brown one's.

"Aww did mommy hurt little Regina? Use her to gain power?" Zelena said, mocking her younger sister.

"You have no idea what I've been through. What our mother has done to me. Don't pretend to know me because you never will. We will never be family Zelena. We may be bound by blood, but the Charming's are more of a family than you'll ever be. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I don't want that baby growing up without a mother." Regina glared whispering harshly at Zelena.

Zelena let out a low cackle.

"What's so funny?" Regina threw a stern glare in her sister's direction.

"Oh nothing. Just that I've just was thinking of something."

"And what's that?"

"I just can't believe that Robin ever loved you. I mean you can't give him children, why else would still want to be with you, when he has me? The woman who has already accomplished that?" she touched the ends of her fire red hair and flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"Once you go green. You'll never go queen," Zelena smirked.

Hearing that, Regina instantly punched Zelena in the face.

Zelena had a smirk on her face, as she wiped the blood from her split lip.

"I've been wanting to do that for months." Regina grinned, satisfied as she saw the red blood drawn from Zelena's lip.

"I only have one question. How the hell do you know I'm barren?" Regina's face was only inches away from her sisters, her eyes filled with anguish.

"Why from our dear old time in Camelot, little sis."

Regina stared at her sister with wide eyes.

It was then that she heard a commotion upstairs. She quickly grabbed her sisters arm forcefully and poofed them away in a cloud of purple smoke.

 **Please Favorite, Follow, and Review! It would be greatly appreciated! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I am so sorry for the long wait! I just had the worst writers block ever, and I was very busy this month. Hope you like this chapter!**

 **** Camelot ****

 _Snow gave a quick squeeze to Regina's hand and a hopeful smile, before she exited the her bedchamber-the loud sound of the wooden door creaking closed after her. She promised her stepmother that she was going to find the water from Lake Nostos that would reverse the works of the infertility potion she drank all those years ago._

 _Regina-still lying on the bed she was lying in just hours ago-contemplated Snow's quick notion of hope._

 _She couldn't believe this. Was she really going to have the opportunity to have a child of her own? Did she even deserve this after everything that she's done? After all of the pain she's inflicted? After all of the misery she's brought upon others?_

 _How could I be so stupid? Regina thought._

 _She believed she didn't deserve this. She thought she didn't deserve this opportunity. Henry was Regina's world. She loved him with all her heart. But he didn't come from her. All of the other mothers in Storybrooke had that certain bond with their child, Emma with Henry, Snow with Emma. They felt their child in their womb, felt them kick and move._

 _But Regina never had that pleasure._

 _Henry always had Emma to go back to. He was never really hers, Regina thought._

 _After everything she did to Henry when Emma first came to Storybrooke she felt it inside that whatever force controlling her life would not let Snow find this water._

 _And what of Robin? What would he want? Would he even want a child? Now of all times?_

 _She looked down to the duvet she was still laying on; playing with the strings attached to the pillow she had been crying into. She couldn't help but think of Zelena and Robin._

 _And their unborn child._

 _Tears threatened to fall from her already bloodshot eyes. It physically made Regina's heart ache to think about. She shook her head profusely trying to will herself not to cry._

Robin would never want a child with her-an ex-Evil Queen; a woman whose heart was filled with darkness and immorality.

 _She knew that Robin had no say in the conception of him and Zelena's child, but she could already tell that he was going to love this child. Why wouldn't he? He was already an amazing father-figure to Henry, and such an amazing father to Roland._

 _She looked out the stain glass windows of her bedchambers, watching the sun begin to set with its colors or purple and orange blending together like water colors._

 _That's exactly what she was-A sunset. Bright and innocent in her beginning, then, her pure soul was slowly corrupted by her mother and Rumplestiltskin, and everything became dark and dreary, as she was turned into a monster._

 _She could feel her walls crumbling down as she let the sadness overcome her once more. She could feel the vulnerability wash over as if huge waves were pulling her into an ocean of depression as her body began wracking with sobs._

 _She sat up on the bed with her forehead lying on top of the duvet, as she began making weird choking noises from deep in her throat- she couldn't breathe. A strangled scream threatened to leave her throat._

 _Out of a mix of anger, and dejection, Regina grabbed the closest pillow she could find and screamed into it._

 _However, these were no ordinary screams. These were bloodcurdling screams brought on by her troubled past, by all of the pain that she had endured as a child-even as a woman now-that pierced the quiet night like a sharp needle. These were screams at her mother for all of the pain she had inflicted upon her as a child, at her sister for taking away the person she loved; for taking away her soulmate. She screamed until her throat was raw, until she couldn't take it anymore. Until the only thing left of her voice was a hoarse pain-filled whisper._

 _She moved the pillow from her mouth, which had been muffling her screams. Regina was surprised no one came in her room._

 _Not even Robin._

 _Her screams were loud enough_

 _Feeling lightheaded, she could feel a dull pounding in her skull. Regina inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to make her breathing go back to normal. She started to think about the good, of the innocent, of the light magic that filled her. That all people deserve a second chance, she just had to open her eyes to see it._

 _Her shallow breaths turned to soft sniffles in a matter of seconds. She rubbed her hands down her face, trying to wipe the tears away. Luckily, she felt no trace of oncoming tears. Her mind now becoming a steady stream of muddled thoughts, as she looked out into nothing. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall in front of her._

 _She glanced down to see a beam of moonlight cast itself across the bedchamber floor._

 _Regina took a steady breathe in, and turned to look out the window. The moon hung itself in the sky, it's light illuminating the entire bedroom._

 _She threw her legs over the edge of her bed, and stood up realizing she needed to get out of this suffocating room. She needed to get out of this castle. She needed to breathe._

 _She grabbed her red velvet cloak from the floor-where she had threw it before she collapsed into a fit of sobs on her bed hours earlier, and headed for her bedroom's doorway._

 _Regina had no idea what time it was, but she disregarded the thought, swinging the cloak around her shoulders attaching it at her left shoulder, as she made her way to her bedchamber door. She felt the cold metal under palms as she unlocked it, the wooden planks of the doors structure as she opened it. Opening the large door caused a low creak to sound throughout the castle halls late at night._

 _Regina cringed._

 _Closing the door with a quick hand, she began walking down the castle corridor, trying to force the pessimistic thoughts from earlier away. Walking down the corridor, the only sound that could be heard was the soft steps of Regina's shoes against the smooth marble floor._

 _Regina looked down, her reflection staring back at her._

 _Could she really be a mother again? Could she have a baby right now? With all the risks around them- ultimately Zelena- would she really want to bring a child into the world? Zelena wanted to ruin Regina's happiness, Regina knew that for a fact. There was no doubt in Regina's mind that Zelena wouldn't try taking that baby._

 _Regina's throat constricted at the thought._

 _She felt a wet streak fall down her cheek. She lifted a hand to wipe at her eyes._

Water.

 _She didn't even realize she was crying._

 _"No no no no," she whispered in denial, walking quickly towards the castle doors._

 _She had to get out of there._

 _The rhythmic sound of her fast footsteps and her heavy breathing was the only sound emitting around her. She passed the ravishing and elegant tapestry that took its place on the wall, and the torches that lined the stone around her; their light quickly reflecting a pale yellow light on Regina's face- now streaked with tears- as she passed._

 _She made her way to the large double doors of the castle. Putting a shaky hand on the knob, she turned it to the left. Hearing the click of the lock, she choked out a strangled sigh of relief. Opening the door, the cold air kissed both of her wet cheeks. Closing the door as softly as she could, not able to hold in any more tears, she ran towards the forest as fast as she could, hoping that she could get far enough that no one would hear her cry._

 _Unfortunately, she only made it to the first row of trees before she collapsed into a fit of sobs holding the tree trunk to support her as she slumped to the ground._

 _"No no no no", Regina whispered into the night._

 _She wasn't going to cry again. She wasn't going to let this sadness take her over._

 _But she couldn't fight it._

 _She sunk to the ground with her back against the tree; she could feel the bark of the tree bite into her back. Lifting her spare hand to her face she covered her mouth and eyes muffling her cries._

 _"Regina?"_

 _She looked out into the forest with wide tear-filled eyes as soon as she heard his voice._

 _"Regina?" the familiar voice repeated in concern._

 _She turned around to meet the light blue eyes of Snow's husband._

 _Charming._

 _"Regina..what are you doing here? What's wrong?" he asked slowly walked toward her, his hands spread out in a calm and cautious gesture._

 _Regina looked over him, her eyes glossy. He had a fur cloak on, snow boots, and a sword in his sheath._

 _Looking down to the forest floor, she attempted to swallow her tears, and looked back up at him trying to use her tongue to mask her true feelings._

 _"Likewise, Charming. Why are you out here in the middle of the night?" she said sharply, her voice hoarse._

 _David didn't seem phased._

 _"I couldn't sleep, so I came out to the forest to think. I couldn't help but think about Emma. How she must be handling all this. I mean she's my daughter and now she's the Dark One..."_

 _Regina cleared her throat, "But she's still your daughter," she interjected, more friendly this time._

 _"Just because she's the Dark One doesn't mean that she isn't your daughter anymore, Charming. She loves you all the same," Regina continued, looking up at Charming with her warm brown eyes, filled with tears._

 _"Look, enough about Emma. Regina, I've known you a long time, I know when you're not okay," he crouched down to meet Regina's eyes._

 _She looked down and rolled her eyes, a fake annoyed look plastered on her face._

 _"Clearly," she choked out, her tongue sharp._

 _It was when he looked up at her with his friendly but sad eyes, and said, "Snow told me what happened," that Regina broke down. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Surprisingly, she felt his hand on her back, rubbing it in support. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her lower lip trembled as she began breathing heavily; her breath appearing in thick clouds before her._

 _It felt as if her throat was closing, like the oxygen was leaving her, like she was choking on thin air._

 _She heard David say her name in concern. "Regina? Regina, breathe. Slowly, okay? Nice and slow." He kept his hand on her back as he spoke to her._

 _Looking up at David, she didn't see just one of him, but two of him as a wave of dizziness came over her._

 _Wrapping a hand around her throat, she looked up at her stepdaughter's husband as her eyes filled with pain and panic._

 _"David...Can't...Breathe." she choked out._

 _"Regina listen to me. Rest your head between your legs. I want you to inhale, and then exhale while I count back from 10. Can you do that for me?" David asked._

 _Regina nodded slowly keeping a hand to her chest._

 _Sitting with her back against the tree trunk, she took a shaky breathe in, and closed her eyes exhaling slowly as Charming began slowly counting back from ten._

 _"10..9..8..good..7..6..5..4..3..awesome..2..1"_

 _David repeated this, and she looked up at him with a hand to her head._

 _"David..I feel so—", her speech was cut off abruptly as she passed out onto the forest floor._

 _David looked at his step-mother in-law in horror._

 _He quickly took her shoulders in his hands and shook them forcefully._

 _"Regina?" he asked._

 _"Regina?" he repeated._

 _Nothing._

 _As fast as he could, he snaked his hands under Regina's legs and back before he lifted her off of the forest floor; there were leaves caught in her hair, and dirt on her red velvet dress. Sprinting with a fairly light Regina in his arms, he made a beeline for the small door leading into the castle's garden._

 _As he approached the wooden door, he realized he didn't have any hands to open the door. He muffled a string of curses instantly._

 _With a mind filled with hope he made his way towards the door and attempted to kick it down. Thankfully he was successful in his attempt and the door swung inwards._

 _David sprinted through the garden of flowers, the courtyard, and into the castle in about a minute._

 _"Doc! Snow! Emma! Robin!" David screamed. He was screaming for aid from anyone he could think of, anyone that could help as he ran down one of the castle corridors. The only sound emitting throughout the castle was the sound of his constant heavy breathing, and the loud sound of his boots making contact with the marble floor as he ran._

 _Turning a corner, he made his way into the main hall of the castle screaming, again, for anyone who could help._

 _It was then that he heard fast footsteps towards the end of the hall. He looked up to see a woman with short black hair dressed in a white nightgown and a robe._

 _Snow._

 _"David what happened to her?!" Snow said looking down at her stepmother's limp form, although she could see her chest rising and falling._

 _She was breathing._

 _Both Snow and Charming let out a breath of relief._

 _"I think she had a panic attack. I was telling her to breathe slowly, and then she just passed out," David answered his wife._

 _"Okay. Find somewhere comfortable to set her while I go find Doc and also Robin, he's probably going to want to know what's going on," Snow told her husband._

 _Charming nodded at her before he saw her leave._

 _Charming made his way to Regina's bedchambers; he thought Regina would want to be comfortable when she awoke. She was going to wake up, Charming was sure of it. After all these years Charming knew Regina well enough to know that she was resilient, and she could get through anything life threw at her. Charming thought that was one of the reasons why he respected her so much._

 _Approaching her room he quickly held Regina up with one hand as he flattened out the ruffled comforter. Slowly, he laid her down onto the bed, and unmatched her cloak at her left shoulder._

 _Pulling up a wooden chair beside the bed, he looked at Regina's unconscious form and started speaking to her._

 _"Regina you better wake up. I swear if you don't Robin will literally kill me," Charming laughed lightheartedly._

 _He heard fast footsteps behind him and instantly looked towards the door to see Snow with a tired Doc, and an alarmed Robin in tow._

 _Doc went over the Regina and pressed two fingers to her throat under her ear. "Her pulse is a little bit slow, but it should come back to normal when she comes to."_

 _He went to her head and lifted her chin so he could check her airways. "Her airways are fine. Nothing blocking, which means she is breathing," he said._

 _"Thank God," David heard Robin breathe from beside him. Charming looked at Doc, a small grin showing that he was impressed plastered on his face, wondering how the hell Doc had even known what to do, and surprised that he was even acting doctor-like. He pulled Doc to the side, and told him what had happened in the forest, leaving out certain personal details._

 _"What happened to her?" Robin took in the sight of an unconscious Regina, and instantly made his way over to the other side of the bed._

 _"Oh god, Regina," he smoothed his fingers through Regina's dark brown hair back with a calloused hand, and placed a kiss upon her hairline._

 _"What happened?" he glanced at Charming, sadness filling his eyes, and overtaking his features._

 _It was Doc that then spoke as he walked towards Regina's unconscious form._

 _"It seems she had a panic attack. I was told she was crying uncontrollably which led to her hyperventilation. I'm assuming since she wasn't breathing properly, and her lungs weren't receiving enough oxygen, she became lightheaded which caused her to faint."_

 _"Okay, well what do we do now? I'm not just gonna stand here while the woman I love is unconscious!" Robin argued forcefully._

 _Snow walked over to Robin and set a friendly hand on his arm, "Robin calm down," she whispered to him. Robin slowly exhaled and looked back up at Doc waiting for an answer._

 _"That's exactly what we do. Nothing. Luckily David helped her breathe before she fell unconscious and brought her here in a matter of minutes. He brought her here so fast, that I found that she didn't require close to no medical attention. If she was unconscious for longer than two minutes and wasn't breathing, we would've needed to perform CPR, which always comes with risks._

 _Both Snow and Robin looked at Charming, Snow with a face of pride, and Robin with a face of gratitude._

 _"When she comes to in the next few minutes, your face will be the one she wants to see, I assure you," Doc said looking straight at Robin._

 _"So she's okay?" Robin asked._

 _"Yes, she's fine. Just make sure when she wakes she doesn't get up too quickly. Make sure she rests. Also, make sure she eats in the morning. I'm guessing the fact that she might not have eaten came as a pretty big factor in her lightheadedness, along with stress or panic," Doc informed Robin._

 _"She should be waking up in the next few minutes," Doc informed everyone as he walked out of the room._

 _"Thank you," Robin called to Doc._

 _Doc turned back to the room, "My pleasure," Doc replied with a small smile before leaving to go back to bed, with a grateful smile from Snow._

 _Charming stood from the chair he was sitting in, offering it to Robin._

 _Robin, moved from the other side of the bed to go sit in the wooden chair, nodding his thanks to Charming._

 _As Robin sat in the chair, he held Regina's delicate hand in his. He rubbed her hand with both of his trying to help her regain heat as he noticed her hand was freezing. Letting go of her hand, Robin turned to Charming, and nodded his thanks._

 _Charming nodded back, setting a friendly hand on Robin's shoulder before he grabbed Snow's hand in his and exited the room, closing the door behind him._

 _Robin laid his head down on the mattress, waiting for his love to awake._

 _After almost two minutes, Robin felt a slight movement by his head. His ocean blue eyes made they're way to Regina's face. She was stirring, her eyebrows were furrowed. She felt around the bed with her hand._

 _She was looking for something._

 _Robin quickly grabbed Regina's hand with both of his, rubbing the back of her hand in slow circles with his thumb._

 _He saw a small smile paint itself on Regina's face, as her eyes were still closed._

 _She was looking for him._

 _He hovered over her face bringing a hand to her cheek, as he lightly pressed his lips against hers._

 _He instantly felt her kiss back._

 _Robin pulled back with a smile as he saw Regina's heavy eyelids lift, her warm brown eyes greeting him. He looked into them, nothing but love in his eyes._

 _"Hello," he heard her whisper. He could hear the smile in her voice._

 _"What happened?" she asked her brows furrowed._

 _Robin sat back in the wooden chair with a sigh, "It seems you had a panic attack. Charming told me he found you in the forest crying. Apparently you hyperventilated so much, you fainted, Charming carried you to your bedchamber. Doc said you probably fainted because of stress or panic"_

 _Regina's eyes grew with panic as they made their way to crystal blue ones._

 _"Regina, you know you can tell me anything," Robin told her with a reassuring smile as he grabbed her hand between his._

 _"What's wrong?" he continued._

 _Regina breathed out slowly wiping a stray tear from her cheek._

 _She cleared her throat and began talking._

 _"Robin...I can't have children with you," she said after a moment of silence._

 _Robin looked at her wide eyed._

 _"I realized we never talked about this, but Regina w-what are you saying? I thought you loved Roland? You don't want to have children with me?" he asked in shock._

 _"No no no Robin I do want children with you," Regina assured him setting her other hand on his._

 _"Then what are you saying?" Robin asks._

 _"I made a stupid decision..in the past. My mother..she tricked me into thinking that she had found my soulmate," she stopped and looked at Robin, "turns out she just wanted me to have a child," Regina laughed sadly as tears welled up in her eyes, heartache evident in her voice. "She wanted me to give her an heir to the throne," Regina tears began to spill softly down her cheeks._

 _"Hey, hey it's okay," Robin wiped away her tears with a small swipe of his thumbs under her eyes._

 _Regina exhaled slowly, looking at the wall in front of her, emotionless._

 _"I was spiteful, and selfish, and I couldn't let her keep controlling my life, Robin. I had to take away something from her like she constantly took things away from me," she continued rambling, looking at the wall as she grabbed Robin's hand in hers as if it was a lifeline. She needed to be grounded to reality._

 _Tears of anger ran down her cheeks as her mind kept bringing her back to that night when she drank the contents of the infertility potion._

 _"My mother told me I was being foolish, and stupid. She thought no one was going to love me, and I believed her," she said as she brought her free hand to her mouth to muffle her cries._

 _Robin looked at Regina, sadness evident in his features-she was so vulnerable, and fragile. He knew what she was gonna say next. He gripped her hand for support, rubbing his thumb over the back of the hand that was gripping his._

 _"That's when I did it," Regina choked out. "That's when I drank the potion that would take away any opportunity of having a biological child of my own," Regina said as she stared down Robin's deep_

 _"I'm so sorry, Robin," she told him as she shook with each cry._

 _"Love," Robin, shot up from his chair to sit on the bed, automatically smoothing her brown hair down, kissing her hairline, and gathering her in a tight hug. He could feel the velvet from her dress underneath his calloused fingers, the feeling of the shaking figure of the love of his life underneath his hands as they lay on her back rubbing it soothingly in small circles._

 _"I am fine with the children we currently have. Roland and Henry are the best children I could ever ask for. Just because we can't have anymore children doesn't mean I love you any less," Robin stated._

 _"But would you like to have another child?" Robin asked curiously._

 _"Yes. So bad," she continued crying as they hugged._

 _He could feel her chest rising fast with each breath, he could hear her swallowing her tears._

 _He pulled back slowly, "Regina you have to calm down. Breathe," Robin told her kissing both her cheeks, smelling the salt from the tears that had formed streaks upon her face._

 _Regina breathed slowly, in and out. When her breathing came back to normal, just small sniffles emitting throughout the late night._

 _He looked into Regina's soft brown eyes._

 _"If this is what you want, I will do everything in my power to make it happen."_

 _Regina hugged Robin tight whispering a soft 'thank you' in his right ear, and kissing his cheek before waving her hand, purple smoke billowing around her as she changed into more comfortable attire for the night, technically now morning-a dark grey nightdress._

 _Regina laid down on the bed throwing the covers over herself as she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes._

 _Robin walking over to the other side of the bed climbed under the covers, now facing Regina._

 _He could see a hint of smile on her face as he climbed into bed._

 _She grabbed his hand entwining both their hands in the middle of the both of them._

 _"Why didn't you stay in Zelena's room tonight?" Regina whispered, as her smile came to a straight face, her eyes still closed._

 _"Why would I stay with Zelena?"_

 _"You seem awfully magnetized to her. You are an amazing father, and I love that about you, and I know that you will love this baby, I mean that's your child, but I feel like Zelena is trying to take you away from me. I know I'm probably acting like a-"_

 _But Regina's rambling was interrupted with a kiss._

 _Robin unraveled their fingers and now had his hands on her cheeks as his lips crashed into hers in one swift movement._

 _He pulled back looking into her dark brown eyes._

 _"Regina, I love you. I will always love you. Don't think that just because this has happened I'm to go to Zelena. I love you," Robin told her, nothing but love in his eyes._

 _Regina smiled brightly, happiness overtaking her features. Her eyes began to water, turning red with tears, brought on by happiness._

 _"I love you too"_

 _Robin grabbed her hand in his, entwining their fingers together._

 _"I told you before, we can get through anything as long as we have each other," Robin said, giving the back of Regina's hand a soft kiss before Regina kissed him softly on the cheek, and turned over so that her back was facing him._

 _Little did they both know Zelena was outside Regina's bedchamber door, and heard their entire conversation right after Snow and David had left._

 _"Let's just go to sleep, and see where tomorrow takes us, yeah?" Robin whispered in her ear as he kissed the back of her head and wrapped his arm around her middle, yawning._

 _Uknown to the both of them, Snow had already came up with a plan, with the help of Belle, to journey to Lake Nostos in the morning._

 **Hallelujah! I have finally updated after what feels like forever ? Again I'm sorry for the wait. Thank you everyone for reading! I assure you, I will have a chapter set in Storybrooke posted by tomorrow. Please vote and also comment your thoughts! I'd love to hear what you think :)**


	6. Chapter 6

*Storybrooke*

Both Regina and Zelena appeared in the living room of the large white mansion on Mifflin Street, the purple smoke now dissipating around the both of them. Regina immediately pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket, calling Snow.  
Holding the phone up to her ear, she mentally plead for her friend to pick up.

 _Hello?_ she heard her voice. Regina let out a quick sigh of relief.

She lowered her voice to a whisper, "Mary Margaret. I need you to come to my house," Regina said, anxiousness seeping into her tone. She quickly cleared her throat so Zelena wouldn't sense how nervous she actually was inside.

If there was any chance Zelena could be telling the truth…

 _Could she really remember everything that happened in Camelot? Did she really know what happened over there?_

Regina definitely had no clue—no one did for that matter.

 _How did she find out I was infertile?_ Regina's anxiety grew at the thought.

 _"Regina! Where have you been? You didn't come back out of Emma's! I thought something happened! Are you okay?"_ she heard Snow's exasperated voice through the phone's speaker.

Zelena wriggled in her sister's grasp,"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Zelena complained.

"I'm fine. I have Zelena; we're at my house. Can you head down here? It's important," Regina asked.

 _Yes, of course. David and I will head there now_ , Regina heard Snow say.

"Okay. See you soon," Regina told Snow before ending the call, and putting her phone back in the pocket of her black trench coat.

"I've got a lot in store for you," Regina smiled, a devilish smirk plastered on her face, as she walked down the hall towards the guest bedroom. She turned and opened the bedroom's large white door. Walking inside the room, with Zelena in tow, she pulled her sister in, and closed the door behind her as soon as soon as they were both inside. Regina finally let go of Zelena's arm. Zelena pulled her arm back, sighing in annoyance

"Why did you bring me here?" Zelena asked, disgust evident in her voice. Regina rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms.

"Look," Regina started, "We need to figure out how you have your memories from Camelot still intact. More importantly, I need to find out how you found out that I'm barren," Regina said walking towards her sister. "And if you don't know how you "found out"?" Regina laughed with nothing but evil in her tone, "You're going to wish you knew," she said forming a fireball in her hand, evil brewing in her eyes. Zelena rolled her eyes in boredom.

"You think a few fireballs are going to scare me, sis?" Zelena laughed.  
Regina snuffed out the fireball, and walked closer to her sister,"Well it looks to me like you still have that cuff on," Regina said nodding towards her sister's wrist, "Which means you're powerless." As soon as she was inches away from her sister, Regina brought a hand around Zelena's chin pulling her face closer to hers.  
Zelena looked at her sister, rage clouding her eyes. "First things first, sis. You are going to tell me what happened in Camelot," Regina's smile was filled with nothing but evil.

"And if I don't?" Zelena asked, rage underneath her tone. "Well than I'm just gonna have to make you talk," Regina looked into her sister's eyes, an evil smirk painting her face before her hand reached to slam inside the redhead's chest.

But Regina's hand was stopped.

One soft snap of Zelena's fingers, and Regina was frozen in place, a green aura now glowing over her. Regina's eyes widened _._

 _Zelena has her magic_.

The redhead let out a wicked cackle and lifted the wrist possessing the cuff into her sister's line of vision. With the simple flick of her free hand, the black bracelet poofed into Zelena's palm instantly, green smoke dissipating around it.

"Oh this thing?" Zelena let out a smirk and a low chuckle as she held the fake cuff in her hand, "yeah this is a forgery, has been for a while as a matter of fact," Zelena said smiling looking from the cuff to her sister's face. "When you left me in that blasted cell underneath the hospital, Ms. Swan came to visit me. And that was all I needed," Zelena smiled as Regina's eyes widened in concern for the blonde.

"See, I see the concern in your eyes for that precious savior turned dark. 'What did Zelena do to her?' you're thinking," the witch said mocking her younger sister. "But unknown to you—or anyone for that matter, she and I actually made a deal," the redhead smirked, "If I helped her with the Apprentice's wand, she would take this bloody cuff off, freeing me from that dreadful impotence. She wanted to get that blasted sword out of that stone and she thought that the wand could help her. So, thanks to Ms. Swan, I was able to use my magic again," Zelena smiled.

"And thanks to our little trip to Camelot, I was able to find a bag of this lovely fairy dust," she said waving her hand in the air, green smoke appearing around a small leather pouch before it dissipated into the air. "The equivalent of fairy dust, just...darker. Much, _much_ darker. See, this does as I think you suspect it does," Zelena pauses, "However this will do much worse. The lovely contents of this pouch will put you under a sleeping curse," Zelena's eyes widen with insanity.

"I guess you're getting your wish after all, huh?" Zelena continues, referencing their talk from the missing year in the Enchanted Forest.

"Don't bother trying to scream or leave this house looking for your precious forest-smelling boyfriend. You're not gonna find him," Zelena said, a wicked grin making its way onto her face. "And he's not gonna find you."

Regina's eyebrows furrowed in anger. She was frozen in place. She couldn't do anything to stop her sister.

Zelena inhaled in satisfactory, "Well. Now that that's that, I've really wanted to do this for years," she said. Regina could see how psychotic her sister was just by looking into her eyes.

Zelena poured some of the dust from the bag onto her palm and blew it towards her sister. The dust flew across the room towards Regina, an aura of blue around it as the moonlight's beam of light coming through the window reflected on it. Regina's eyes widened, seeing double before she was succumbed into a deep sleep.

* * *

Robin was pacing the hospital floor outside his daughter's room anxiously trying to figure out what Regina was doing to her sister. I mean it's not like he cared about Zelena.  
She raped me for god sakes, Robin thought.

He instantly tried to tear the heinous thought out of his mind. _I shouldn't be thinking like this_ , Robin thought to himself. His mind instantly went to Regina. He was worried about her. Worried that she would go back to her old ways.

 _No I know her_ , Robin reassured himself.

He knew her better because they were exactly alike.

 _She's stronger now, she's not that person anymore_ , Robin continued telling himself.

Robin's thoughts were cut off abruptly as a nurse in pink scrubs came up to him, a cheerful expression painted on her face.

"We are about to run a few more tests on your daughter just to confirm that she has the ability to leave. This will probably take an hour at the least if you want to go see your son. We will call you if anything happens," the nurse told him, smiling reassuringly.

"You have my phone number?" Robin interjected politely.

"Yes. Regina gave it to me. She figured you'd want to know what was going on," the nurse said to Robin before heading back to his daughter's room.

Robin lightly nodded the nurse off with a smile, and looked into his daughter's room. Love began to fill his eyes the moment he laid eyes on her. Robin walked up to the clear glass separating him and his daughter. His eyes found the same nurse walk towards his sleeping daughter, as she gathered her in her pink blanket. The baby began to stir in the nurse's arms; her eyebrows furrowed, her features contorted in sadness, and her face began to turn a light shade of crimson. Her cries pierced the air as a tiny needle was injected quickly into the skin of her heel. Robin couldn't bare to look at the sight.

Knowing he couldn't console her made it even worse. Another nurse quickly put a tiny bandage on the baby's heel, before the nurse holding his daughter wrapped the pink blanket around her once more. It was then that Robin saw his baby girl's eyes open. They were brown. Robin stepped closer to the glass examining his daughter's face closely in confusion.

He'd seen those eyes before.

Those dark warm eyes. Those eyes that were the type of brown that was sweet like chocolate. The chocolate that melts at the slightest twinge of heat from love, or happiness. Those same eyes that grew hard when subjected to the cold harsh reality of the world. Those same eyes that hid heartbreak and depression so well. He looked into those eyes every day when he awoke. They haunted him in his dreams, along with their owners smile.

 _That elusive but satisfying smile._

Robin couldn't help the small grin that made it's way onto his face at the thought of his soulmate.

Those were _Regina's_ eyes. Robin's eyes widened in confusion.

The nurse holding his daughter could see Robin out of her peripheral vision as she was rocking his daughter, and quickly looked over to him giving him a reassuring nod mouthing 'she's okay' with a reassuring smile. Robin quickly nodded at the nurse, a fake smile plastered on his face, hiding his anxiety and nervousness, and headed for the forest to go see his son.

Walking through the hospital's main exit, Robin tried to shake off the nagging feeling of anxiousness from his mind. But he could'nt. What if the baby was him and Regina's? If that was even possible… He couldn't help the small grin that immediately surfaced as his mind was overtaken with the thought.

The stars illuminated the night sky, as the wind picked up around him. He could hear the leaves that scattered the street, crunch under his feet, and the continuous chirp of the cricket's around him. Robin made his way to the forest the spine's of the trees now greeting him. He began walking into the thick greenery, when he felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket.

He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket, glancing down at the screen.

Snow was calling him.

Quickly answering the call, he didn't even have time to say 'hello', before Snow began rambling.

 _Robin you need to get down here quick. David and I are at Regina's_. Snow's voice began breaking up.

The nervousness in her voice caused Robin to cease his walking, and began jogging towards Regina's house.

"Snow what's wrong with Regina? What's happening?" Robin asked as he began running down the street, his feet quickly carrying him towards the white mansion on Mifflin street.

 _Regina's won't wake up. David_ , he heard Snow's intake of breath, _David and I think she's under a sleeping curse_ , Snow replies exasperated.

He can hear her silent cries over the speaker of the phone.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Robin replied quickly, ending the call.

Running down the street, Robin couldn't help but plead to the Gods that his love is alright.


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so so so sorry I haven't been updating, and I'm also sorry for leaving you guys with a cliffhanger. I've been on vacation for a while and haven't had the time to write. But now I finally have. Hope you like this chapter** **please please review! I would love to know what you think!**

After much persuasion, and a lengthy amount of time standing in the thick green grass of her daughter's front yard, Snow finally listened to David's constant notion of leaving. Although she left their daughter's house with multiple annoyed sighs, David knew that it was best that they leave. He knew Regina would be perfectly fine on her own, and if she really needed help she would call them.

David grabbed Snow's hand in his squeezing it once in support, as Snow faced away from him and looked out into the night as if she were admiring the stars illuminating themselves in the stretch of sky above them.

"Mary Margaret, Regina will be fine. She can handle herself. Stop worrying," he explained to his wife whispering in her ear, and kissing her forehead, as he put an arm around both her shoulders and hugged her closer bringing her to his side.

Snow turned her head to face her husband.

"Regina is the most stubborn person I know. She wouldn't even call us for help if she was on her deathbed David. Sure Regina is strong, but she can also be vulnerable and weak, and I know she'd say and ultimately does say otherwise, but I know her David. I've practically known her my entire life, I know how she thinks." Snow sighed.

"And now that her sister is involved, she's going to be as vulnerable as ev-"

Snow's phone started to ring inside her jacket pocket.

Grabbing it from her pocket, she answered the phone, putting it up to her ear. David couldn't hear a word on the other end of the phone call, he only heard what Snow had to say.

"Hello?" he heard his wife say.

David saw Snow's eyes widen, "Regina! Where have you been? You didn't come back out of Emma's! I thought something happened! Are you okay?"

David could see that Snow's features radiated a sense of panic.

David's eyebrows shot up at his wife in question.

"Yes, of course. David and I will head there now," Snow said. She ended the call, putting the phone in her jacket pocket with her brows furrowed in confusion.

David put a steady hand on Snow's arm, "What's wrong?" he asked.

Snow looked at her husband confusion and confusion clouding her eyes.

"It's Regina. She says she has Zelena at her house. She needs us over there and she says it's important."

"Well then let's go. I parked my truck by Granny's just incase we would need it," David replied.

Snow grabbed David's hand as they walk as fast they can towards Granny's.

Once David saw his truck, he broke into a jog still holding Snow's hand in his. He went over to the passenger side of the truck opening the door for she got in, he quickly closed the passenger side door, and headed over to the driver's side, hopping in, and slamming the truck door shut with a loud squeak sounding throughout the brisk night.

Starting the truck's engine, David floored the gas pedal and both him and Snow headed to Regina's house.

****  
The ride to the white mansion was quick and full of a panic-filled silence.

Nobody spoke-nobody needed to speak.

The fact that Regina could be in trouble at the moment floated throughout the truck, in all of its fearsome glory all on its own.

Anything involving Zelena was sure to be painful.

Zelena knew exactly how to break her sister, even if her magic was impotent. She knew how to hit her where it hurt the most.  
And if Regina had called them there was sure to be something wrong...

David drove while Snow looked out the passenger side window praying that something didn't happen to Regina. Their hands were intertwined on the console of the car, in the middle of both front seats, David's hand holding her's in support, rubbing the back of it in slow circles, attempting to calm down her nerves.

"Mary Margaret, Regina will be fine," are the only words he says as they drove through the dimly lit streets.

They headed down Mifflin Street and spotted the white mansion. David quickly pressed the gas harder as soon as he saw the house, and the truck accelerated.

As soon as they were in front of Regina's house, David parked beside the curb, quickly pulling the keys out of the ignition. As the truck came to a complete stop, David and Snow were beginning to get out of the truck when Snow's phone started ringing once more.

Snow looked at her phone to see that it was Emma.

Snow quickly answered the phone as her and David met on the sidewalk in front of Regina's house.

"Emma?"

"Mom?"

Snow heard the anxiousness in her daughter's voice.

"Emma's what's wrong?"

"I have to make this quick-I'm supposed to be heading over to Granny's with Henry, and I don't want him to worry. Zelena has her magic back; the cuff is a fake. Please be careful, I have no idea where she could be right now."

Snow looked at David with wide eyes.

"Okay..." Snow quickly ended the call.

"What? What's wrong?" David asked.

Snow looked at her husband with wide panic-filled eyes, "Zelena has her magic back. The cuff's a fake."

David and Snow quickly ran towards Regina's front door in panic. If Zelena had her magic back and her and Regina were in a room together...

They were stopped as a blue gleam of light in the window met their peripheral vision.

Magic.

A wide eyed Snow put a shaking hand over her mouth, fear overtaking her features.

"What is that? What's wrong?" David asked looking at the window in surprise and confusion.

"I used to sneak into Cora's study and watch her practice magic as a little girl. That's a sleeping curse David. And if Zelena has her magic back..."  
At the spoken thought both David and Snow sprang into action fearing the worst.

They knew Zelena was stronger than Regina, according to Rumplestiltskin.

David jostled the front door handle.

It was then that a bright green light illuminated around the doorknob, zapping David's hand in the process.

David let out a string of muffled curses.

The only person they both knew that used green _anything_ was Zelena.

"You okay?" Snow asked.

David gave Snow a quick and solemn nod.

Snow put a hand on his shoulder as she stared at the door handle in confusion, "Let me try."

"Mary Margaret be careful," David said, his eyes of bright blue burning into Snow's dark green with warning.

She gave him a consoling nod as she turned towards the colossal white door, attempting to open it.

As soon as her hand came in contact with the door handle, a blue light illuminated on the handle and they both heard a click as the door unlocked and swung in on itself.

They both looked at each other with similar expressions on their faces reading:

 _How the hell...?_

Not questioning the fact out loud that he could open the door and David couldn't, Snow began to walk inside the house, David, following her, pulled his gun from its holster to have by his side when he hit some sort of barrier keeping him from going inside Regina's house.

It shimmered as soon as he came in contact with it. Like a frame of clear glass that was separating him from the entrance of Regina's house.

But Snow was perfectly fine, standing on the other side of the entrance in between Regina's living room and kitchen.

David hit the glass-like barrier again with the side of his fist in a mix of confusion and anger.

Snow walked towards David.

"I can't get in. Are you _sure_ you want to go through with this?"

"David, it's _Regina_. I'm going"

"Okay. I want you to take this for your safety," David whispered holding his gun out so that she could take it. Snow passed her hands of the barrier, and the gun was in her hands, "I know you know how to use it."

Snow reassuringly nodded at him taking the gun in her hands.

"I love you," Snow said as she crossed the barrier kissed her husband and walked back into the house. She was walking towards the stairs when they both heard a loud familiar cackle from upstairs.

It was Zelena.

"Be careful," David whispered.

Snow gave him a reassuring nod.

As she made their way upstairs, the front door still open, she heard the low murmur of Zelena talking. Snow quickly but cautiously walked towards the source of the noise.

It was Regina's guest room.

Snow quickly cracked the door open to reveal the limp body of Regina on the floor of the guest room, and a black and green-clad figure with a pointed black hat, and red curls.

Zelena.

She was laughing walking around Regina's body that laid on the floor, talking to her as if she was still conscious.  
Turning around quickly, Snow grabbed her phone out her jacket pocket with her free hand, the gun in the other dialing and holding it up to her ear.

"C'mon, C'mon. Pick up, Pick up, Pick up..."

Snow let out a quick breath of relief as she heard the phone being answered on the other line.

Before he could even begin to say hello, Snow began speaking.

"Robin you need to get down here quick. David and I are at Regina's"

In a matter of seconds Robin replied,"Snow what's wrong with Regina? What's happening?"

Through the small crack in the door, Snow saw Zelena nudge Regina's body with the side of her heel.

"Regina's won't wake up. David..David and I think she's under a sleeping curse," Snow whispered to Robin, not even realizing she was crying.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Robin said ending the call abruptly.

Snow put her phone back in her coat, and wiped her tears away with the simple motion of her hand dragging down her face as she put two hands on the gun.

The safety was still on, and Snow was sweating through her leather gloves with nervousness.

She heard Zelena's voice once more, talking to Regina.

"See I've put a specific protection spell over this house, little sis. Only the people who truly love you can enter, and I know for a fact that that thief doesn't really love you. You killed his wife. You killed thousands. How could anyone love you?"

Snow thought about the fact that David couldn't get in. Did he not love Regina like family? She would have to talk to him about that later.

Snow continued listening looking through the crack in the door, "...which from what I gather, isn't very much. You think these people you call your friends and family truly love you? You are the Evil Queen, and you will always be exactly that in the eyes of everyone who lives in this bloody town."

Zelena's back was then to Snow, and that's when Snow took her chance.

Zelena was standing probably five feet from the door itself when Snow, holding the gun with one hand and opening the door slowly with the other, slipped through the widened crack in the door and held the gun low, towards the carpeted floor.

She was only a few feet away when she pointed the gun at Zelena's back, steadying her hands.

Zelena, instantly feeling a presence behind her, turned around swiftly.

Snow found the light and platonic love for Regina within her, gathered it deep inside and sent the forceful words spitting at Zelena like fire.

"Get. Away. From. Her"

Snow clicked the saftey off with the simple flick of her thumb on the hammer, and held the gun with two hands one on the grip, the other supporting her other hand.  
Her brows gathered in determination as she stared Zelena down, and if looks could kill, the red headed witch would be dead.

Zelena laughed.

" _Snow White_. The precious little girl Regina saved, daughter of the late King, turned bandit as you were running from your step-mother's forces. Who was I to think that you didn't love Regina?"

Snow kept the gun pointed at Zelena and the words flowed from her mouth without fail. Without flaw. It was instinct.

"You have no idea who Regina really is. Sure she did some terrible things in the past. But you have no idea what she has become. She is a hero. More of a hero then you will ever be Zelena. She found love. In her son, in me and my husband, in Emma, in Robin. She is resilient, and strong, and loves unconditionally. Three things you will never amount to. You, Zelena, will always be wicked."

The redhead walked over to Snow nodding at the gun now pointed at her chest.

"And what is this? Is this the plan to rescue your beloved stepmother? This foolish little toy is nothing compared to my magic."

Zelena's hand waved to the side opposite of Regina attempting to get rid of the weapon, when the gun flew across the room going off in the process with a bang.

****  
Robin sprinted as fast as he could towards the large white mansion on Mifflin Street. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears, the ache in his bones as his boots met the dark asphalt one by one.

 _Left. Right. Left. Right_

Robin was almost there.

Thoughts of Regina flooded through his mind.

Their first kiss. Her smile. Her eyes. Her sharp tongue filled with sarcasm that he loved so much. Her bond with Roland, and how his tiny eyes lit up with happiness every time Regina entered a room.

He thought about her resilience, and how he admired her strength, and how she has the strength to fight against the darkness every single day but is still able to overcome it.

It was then that he remembered a moment before he left for New York when Marian-Zelena, his mind reminded him with a shutter- was frozen over and Regina told him something when he was telling her about his conflicted heart.

 _'The only way Marian is going to live is if you give her a kiss of true love'_

True loves kiss! Robin had to give Regina a kiss of true love and she would wake. Robin ran faster at the thought.

He turned past a street corner onto Mifflin Street itself. Regina's house was a block away. Robin sprinted. Out of panic and fear; he didn't know which.  
The wind whipped past Robin at full speed as he made his way in front of Regina's house.  
The white structure flooded his vision as he glanced at the front of the house to see a figure by the door.  
David.

He was watching intently at a window upstairs.

Confused, Robin slowed to a jog as he approach the porch.

"David? What are you doing outside? I got Mary Margaret's call and headed down here as fast I could" Robin asked, out of breath.

David turned toward his friend.

"Shhh. I think there's a protection spell over the house. Zelena's in there with Regina and Snow. Zelena's cuff's a fake. I don't know how. The protection spell won't let me into the house, but it let Snow in. I told her not to go in but she wouldn't take no for an answer, so I gave her my gun."

Robin reached for the door handle but David stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Robin I don't think you should do that. What if something happens?"

"Something's already happened, David. Regina-the woman I love-is in danger and I have to help her. Wouldn't you do the same for Mary Margaret?" Robin side stepped David and walked towards the open door putting a hand through the door frame.

His hand slipped through the barrier with no conflict.

He stepped into the house walking up the stairs slowly, his bow at the ready.

****  
First a loud bang, then a bright light.

A pain-filled scream echoed throughout the room.

The bullet had skimmed Zelena's thigh.

Snow grinned in satisfaction as she saw Zelena fall to the ground in agony, a dark shade of crimson now spreading throughout Zelena's leg staining her stockings underneath her black dress.

"I will be back _Snow White_ ," Zelena growled to the brunette throwing her hand in the air about to leave the house in a puff of green smoke.

"Not today you won't," a familiar voice uttered from the doorway of the room.

A large cloud of grey smoke and Emma was in the room, with her dark leather clad outfit and bleach blonde hair gathered into a braided bun at the back of head.

A wave of Emma's hand and a cloud of grey smoke around Zelena's wrist, and the real magic cuff appeared on Zelena's wrist.

Zelena turned around quickly in anger and surprise to see the familiar faces of Robin with his dark green leather and bow and arrows, a quiver strapped to his back at the door, and Emma with her colorless hair brought up into a bun at the back of her head, and her leather-clad outfit in ta corner of the room.  
Zelena looked at Emma with wide eyes of which seemed to have started a mental conversation with Emma.

 _'What are you doing? I thought we had a deal Swan!'_

Emma smirked.

 _'Oh we did. But it was a trick. You really think I would let you hurt my family? Nice try'_ Emma told Zelena with her eyes.

Zelena screamed in anger as she realized her magic was now impotent.

After a couple of seconds Zelena smiled painfully holding her leg,

"Come to visit your old lover?" she said looking at Robin, nodding to Regina's limp form lying on the floor of the guest room.


	8. Chapter 8

Darkness was all she could see.

All noises ceased save the light whisper of her breaths echoing throughout her mind.

Darkness enveloped her in its unknown embrace, its nimble fingers wrapping around her throat choking the consciousness from her body replacing it with bright hues of color that swarmed like water colors throughout her mind.

These were memories.

Vivid images flew past in a blur.

She first saw herself in a red cloak leaning against a tree in the night, hyperventilating.

More images flew by; David was carrying her towards King Arthur's castle as she lay unconscious in his arms.

More memories. She heard the voices.

The voices of the ones she loved, her friends, her family.

However long it takes me, I will find you that water, I promise you. You deserve to have the oppurtunity to bare children. You are a wonderful mother.

Snow.

Had she told Snow the story of her how she became infertile in Camelot?

Regina rubbed the thought over in her mind, contemplating the notion.

The familiarity of her stepdaughter's voice offered her comfort and solace.

A familiar accented voice, Regina, I love you. I will always love you. Don't think that just because this has happened I'm to go to Zelena. I love you.

Robin.

And then the tie of warmth and comfort was abruptly severed as she heard her distant cries of sadness and dejection, and the wave of exceptional depression she had submitted to in Camelot had once more washed over her.

Bright hues surrounded her subconscious as she was succumbed into a wallowing darkness.

Memories were rushing by in a constant blinding flash, as images of a royal crest came into view.

These were memories from Camelot.

A bed was centered in the middle of the far wall of Regina's bedchamber, a wooden vanity placed in front of the bed.

She could see herself still in the same red cloak and she was crying.

Actually sobbing for that matter.

Robin was next to her sitting on the bed opposite her, a hand on her back, the other resting on her cheek wiping away her tears as she cried.

That's when she heard the last thing she thought she'd say spill from her mouth to meet Robin's ears:

"I drank the potion that would take away any opportunity of me having a biological child of my own"

The world stopped.

Stopped, and started, and then stopped again.

Regina had no time at all to comprehend what the memory had just uncovered as she was thrown into another memory-the images finally ceasing their movement.

The colors made their way in front of her clear and precise.

The natural hue of orange and auburn-leaves in autumn. The bright color of apples, a dark shade of scarlet-a cloak.

In the same memory, her eyes shifted and she saw another blur of color; a dark shade of green-like the forest

Or is it more velvet-like? Regina asked herself.

Regina's eyes focused in on the memory once more.

It was a cloak-two cloaks actually.

It was her and Robin.

Her mind brought the memory to a landscape view and everyone came into view.

Snow, Belle, Henry, and Emma...

What the hell was happening?

Regina curiously and anxiously watched the memory unfold when a voice cut deep like a dagger into the memory echoing throughout her mind.

"You have no idea who Regina really is. Sure she did some terrible things in the past. But you have no idea what she has become. She is a hero. More of a hero then you will ever be Zelena. She found love. in her son, in Robin, in Robin's son Roland, in me and my husband, in Emma. She is resilient, and strong, and loves unconditionally. Three things you will never amount to. You, Zelena, will always be wicked"

It was Snow.

Regina felt tears prick at the edged of her vision, within her mental subconscious. Thrown into the same memory once more, Regina watched intently attempting to figure out what was going on.

She saw that they were all circled around a well, it was grey and concrete structure meeting her vision instantly.

Snow was looking at Regina, optimism shining brightly in her eyes as she held a teary-eyed Regina's hands in her own.

"I told you I'd find it," Snow smiled.

Regina saw herself smile lightheartedly, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Snow. So much," Regina saw herself saying to the younger brunette pulling her in for a hug as she smiled.

Never in a million years did Regina think she would be genuinely hugging Snow White.

People can change, Regina thought to herself.

Regina saw her Camelot-dressed self after pulling back from the hug with Snow walk over to her son; pulling him away from the group. She put a hand on his cheek.

"Henry. I want you to know that this doesn't change anything. I still love you, I will always love you with my whole heart. Just because I do this, does not mean that it will happen. Just that there is a possibility it could happen, okay?"

"Mom. I'm not a little kid anymore. I know you want this. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in they way you look at Zelena..." Henry trailed off as he saw Regina look down to the forest floor. Henry continued triumphantly," And it's not a band thing that you want this. This is amazing! You finally have the opportunity to do something you've always wanted to have the chance to do and I'm so happy for you! You're strong, and you can overcome anything. You're my Mom."

Henry pulled Regina into a bone crushing hug, and pulled back going over to a smiling Emma.

Regina was walking towards the well that would grant her her fertility back, when a memory made its way into her mind.

It had been Henry's fifth birthday, and he had just blew out the candles on his birthday cake when he turned to his adoptive mother sitting next to him at the dinner table.

"You want to know what I wished for Mommy?" Henry had asked.

Regina saw the Camelot-clad Regina's lips tug upwards as she remembered a five year old Henry with his missing front tooth, and wild imagination.

She remembered this moment clear as day.

"What did you wish for my little prince?" Regina remembered herself asking him that day, smiling.

"I wished for a baby sister, so I can protect her like I protect you, because I'm your little prince," Henry said giving his mother a toothy smile.

"Maybe someday honey. Maybe someday," Regina responded to the young boy's statement with a sad smile, as she cut him a piece of his birthday cake. Although she knew it was never going to happen; in biological terms anyways.

Regina cried herself to sleep that night thinking of the night she had consumed that infernal potion just for the sake of spiting her mother.

She was never going to be able to give Henry what he truly wanted. Granted she could probably adopted again, she could'nt help but think of the fact that she would never bare a child of her own.

Looking back at the Camelot memory Regina saw herself go to hold Robin's hand when she felt a sense of hesitation come over her.

And Robin noticed.

He always noticed.

He pulled Regina aside, into a secluded area in the woods a few feet away from the well and stood in front of her, looking into her eyes.

"You know you don't have to do this. I don't want you to think that I'm forcing you-"

"No no I don't think you're forcing me to do this. I want to do this. God yes I want to do this," Regina breathed smiling in excitement, but her smile faltered.

"Just..what if something happens?"

Robin walked closer to Regina, holding her hands in his, bringing his forehead to rest against hers, looking into her warm brown eyes now filled with tears.

Robin was the person Regina wasn't afraid to cry in front of. She could be vulnerable and her walls could collapsed around her when she was with him, and she didn't even care.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I swear it on my life," Robin whispered to her calmly.

She breathed in and out hoping to calm her nerves. Swallowing her tears she looked into Robin's eyes nodding, and they walked back to the well together.

"Okay...let's do this," Regina exhaled as she procured a mug with her magic, and Robin lowered the bucket down to the well, and after a few seconds, brought the bucket back up.

In the memory, Regina saw herself put the mug underneath the surface of the lake water that filled the bucket, filling the mug.

She saw Robin move the bucket over to the other side of the well so his hands were free for just in case something were to happen.

He would be there if she needed him.

He had no idea what the effects were for drinking this water.

Regina inhaled, and drank all of the water from the mug in just a few seconds.

Setting the mug on the well, she looked around at everyone's face of optimism although nothing was happening.

"I don't know if-" Regina started before a wave of pain flooded through her abdomen. Regina's hands shot to her stomach in an instant.

"God," Regina breathed the word out in a short exhale.

She hunched over herself, both of her hands on the well's flat concrete surface rocking back and forth trying to breathe through the pain.

"Regina what's wrong?" Robin asked alarmed as he held her in his arms.

"Mom?" Henry asked Regina.

Henry looked at Snow alarmed, "Grandma what's wrong with her?"

Regina moaned painfully through clenched teeth as she buried her face in Robin's chest and grabbed fistfuls of his green velvet cloak as each stab of pain washed over her.

She could feel the infertility curse being lifted, feel the works of the potion she had ingested in the past being reversed.

And it was agonizing.

All of the pain came back like the potion she consumed was burning through her reproductive organs all over again.

"What's happening?" Both Robin and Henry asked Belle as Emma looked on in concern.

"This is supposed to happen. This is the water's way of bringing back what was once lost," Snow answered for Regina as she looked at her stepmother with a sad smile.

"Granted it is painful. The water holds specific regenerative properties, so ultimately the water is 'fixing' those things that made it impossible for her to bare children, and making them 'new', in a way," Belle added in.

Their conversation was cut off with another pained moan from Regina as she slowly slumped against the side of the well, pressing a forceful hand against her stomach hoping it would make the pain subside, tears slowly streaming down her face.

She bit her lip, and put her head down, a veil of brown hair covering her face as she cried.

Robin crouched down to Regina's level and rubbed her back in soothing slow circles.

Regina looked up to Robin's face, tears blurring her vision.

All the colors were intermixed. The ocean blue of Robin's eyes. The auburn hue of the autumn leaves around them. The red velvet of her cloak around her shoulders.

She grabbed Robin's hand in her own and gave a shaky breath of relief as the pain finally subsided.

"Are you okay?" Robin was the first to ask with a strong hand on Regina's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Regina breathed. "That was just..wow." Regina exhaled as Robin wiped her tears away with a quick swipe of his thumb under her eyes. "That was just like when I drank the potion. The pain was exactly the same."

"But you're okay?" Robin asked cautiously helping Regina up with a steady hand around her torso.

"Perfectly fine"

Brown eyes looked into blue eyes, nothing but love illuminating in them.

Robin could hear the smile in her voice.

Robin had an arm around Regina's torso as she looked at the group smiling.

Snow exhaled quickly, "Well, I think we all better go and give you guys time to talk..or do other things. Whatever you'd like," Snow said grinning looking at both Regina and Robin.

"Snow!" Regina's eyes widened quickly glancing at Robin at the notion of 'other things' and she looked down, smitten.

"Let's go kid," Emma looked at Henry.

"You guys go ahead. I'll be right back behind you," Henry told his birth mother.

"Okay Henry. I trust you. Don't fall too far behind, okay?"

"Okay"

Regina saw Belle, Snow, and Emma begin to walk down the forest trail away from the well, when Regina felt a pair of medium sized arms wrap around her shoulders.

"I love you Mom. Nothing will ever change that. Not even another sibling." Henry had been thinking of Roland as his brother for a while now, or something of the sort. "I'm so happy for you. The both of you," Henry looked at both Regina and Robin.

"Thank you, my boy," Robin brought Henry in for a side hug.

"Henry hugged his mother once more and walked backwards towards the trail.

"Again, congratulations Mom."

"Thank you Henry, but I'm not even pregnant Henry," Regina chuckled.

"Not yet. Have hope!" Henry said smiling at the couple as he began jogging to join his birth mother, his grandma, and Belle on the trail ahead of him.

Regina couldn't help the bright smile that painted itself on her face.

"She isn't my old anything, Zelena," Robin fired back.

"Ah well, glad to see the heroes know how to make an entrance," Zelena responded through clenched teeth.

"Zelena just give up. It's over. Your magic is impotent, and I will kiss Regina and wake her up from the sleeping curse you put her under," Robin replied, shooting his words at Zelena.

Robin, leaving his bow with Snow, walked towards Regina's limp form on the ground bending down and softly smooth her hairline down with his thumb as he snaked an arm under her back and another arm under her legs as he brought her to the bed in the middle of the guest bedroom with a grunt.

Emma walked over to Zelena, conjuring a rope out of thin air. She moved a wooden chair from the opposite side of the room, in her direction.

It came to stop right behind Zelena.

"Sit," Emma ordered the redhead.

"What makes you think I'm gonna-"

"Sit," Emma used her magic to shove Zelena into the chair. A bright white light hitting Zelena's body before she hit the chair with a scream of pain.

The witch rolled her eyes as Emma tied Zelena to the chair, and cast a spell on the ropes.

"Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it. Now. You're going to answer a few questions for me, or really, us," Emma told Zelena, glancing at Snow and Robin, a look of determination painted on her face.

"And why would I do that?" Zelena retorted sarcastically.

"You'll do it," Emma walked over to Zelena and looked straight into her piercing blue eyes. "Because I'll be right here to rip your heart out and control you to tell me the truth if you don't," Emma smiled, evil shining in her eyes.

Regina was submerged into yet more memories as the darkness was replaced with additional vivid colors.

This memory was positive.

Robin and Regina had walked back to the castle by themselves-after her infertility curse had been broken-hand in hand. Talking about them, talking about Roland, and how he had just discovered what crayons were in Storybrooke before they had left for Camelot. Regina smiled brightly at the thought of Robin's son's bright eyes as he looked at all of the hues and shades of color in the crayon box.

They also talked about Zelena and that even though it was months away, they both decided, against their best instincts, that they would give Zelena a second chance, and allow her time to visit with Zelena and Robin's child, only if either Robin or Regina were present.

They truly could get through everything as long as they were together.

They had walked and talked as they went down the trail until the sun had set , disregarding the fact that they would not get to the castle before night came upon the both of them.

Not having a care in the world.

Hours later, they had finally returned to Arthur's castle, still hand in hand, giggling like idiots. And the Evil Queen never giggled. But this wasn't the Evil Queen.

This was Regina Mills.

Mother, Lover, Sister, Daughter, Hero.

This was the happiest she had been in years, since she adopted Henry.

Perhaps this was what it felt like to be happy?

Regina was so used to having happiness and in a matter of seconds having it ripped out from under her.

This was utopia in comparison.

They had made their way into the castle, no sound emitting through the silence save the sound of their footsteps, and the continuous chirp of the crickets in the night, as Robin walked into Regina's bedchamber with the simple pull of her hand.

As soon as they made it inside Regina's room, Robin pulled Regina to him with a hand at her back, and another hand on her cheek as her kissed her full force.

Regina melted into the kiss, a smile tugging at her lips.

It seemed as if a force was pulling them together.

Passion.

Robin held her hips as they softly collided into a far stone wall, the warmth of the elegant tapestry rubbing softly against Regina's bare shoulders as the couple still did not break contact.

The only sounds were their quick breaths in the everlasting night.

Regina's hands roamed over Robin's chest as Robin's hands were tangled in Regina's dark locks.

They couldn't get enough of each other.

In between kisses Regina grabbed for Robin's cloak attempting to feel for the latch.

Finding the latch, she unhooked his cloak, sending it to the floor with a feathery lightness, and then a clank as the metal latch hit the tiled floor.

It was as if the world stopped and sent them into a frenzy.

Robin swiftly unhooked Regina's cloak which also sent it dropping to the floor. Regina began to unbutton Robin's thin tunic in between breathy kisses.

His tunic was off, and now on the floor as Robin picked Regina up with gentle care as her dark locks became a curtain covering both of their faces as their lips never separated.

Robin walked over to the bed, and carefully lowered Regina as if she was made glass, afraid he would break her.

But Regina was strong.

As soon as she hit the plush comforter of the bed, an unknown push of passion gathered in her core as she turned her and Robin over so that she was on top.

Robin stared at Regina in awe in front of him as his world stopped.

She was so beautiful.

"Marry me"

The words spilled out of his mouth in an instant as he couldn't help but think of waking up beside her, to see her every morning as the rays of the sun hit her face just right.

He couldn't help but think of how everyday he could wake up to tell her how much he loved her. Not that he doesn't do that already..

Regina looked at Robin with wide eyes now filled with love and tears. Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

She stared into those ocean blue eyes, trying to stay anchored to reality.

"Granted this isn't the most traditional proposal," Robin looked at the bed around them with a light chuckle as a small smile tugged at Regina's lips.

Robin continued, "I love you so much , and you would make me the happiest man in all the realms if you gave me the honor of becoming your husband. So..will you, Regina Mills, marry me?"

The words echoed in Regina's ears.

Regina leaned into Robin and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Yes," she breathed, smiling brightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Okay," Robin wiped away her tears as he too smiled, tears pricking at the edge of his vision.

Regina looked into those ocean blue eyes once more that held so much hope and love.

"I love you"

The three words they both repeated in between breathy kisses and moans as they were both sent into oblivion.


	9. Chapter 9

They were in the guest room of the colossal white mansion on Mifflin Street, an unconscious Regina lying atop a bed that occupied itself in the middle of the room on the far wall, Robin by her side. A wave of Emma's hand in the air and a bright white light outlined the windows and doors of the white mansion, undoing the protection spell Zelena had cast.

Snow quickly gave her daughter a grateful nod as she left the room to get her husband.

Snow was too caught up in getting her husband from outside to hand Robin his bow and quiver back, and Emma noticed.

She looked to Robin at Regina's side.

He hadn't kissed Regina yet.

Robin needed answers from Zelena before he woke the love of his life. He wasn't waking her to this mess of chaos unless the situation called for it.

Emma glanced down at Robin's hands as Regina lay on the bed, unconscious.

They were holding onto Regina's in a white knuckled grip as if Robin was trying to contact the brunette through his touch.

The blonde saw Robin get down on his knees beside the bed, eyes closed whispering in her ear as he held her hands in his.

"Regina, I'm here. I love you. I'm here," she heard him whisper over and over again.

 _He really does love her_ , Emma thought with a small smile.

That's how she new true love's kiss would work.

Emma couldn't help but feel happy for her friend. Every chance at happiness Regina was given in the past, had been ripped right out from underneath her almost seconds after she actually let herself _feel_ that happiness.

Emma couldn't be any more pleased than she was now that Regina had love in her life and that her friend was actually _happy_.

Emma smiled softly at the thought looking up to Robin in the process.

"Robin. Do you want to go get your bow and arrows from my mom? I can deal with this," she said nodding at Zelena.

"Oh it's fine. Don't worry about-"

"Robin." Emma cut him off lightheartedly.

"I know you don't go anywhere without a weapon. And when my mom walked out with your bow you seemed pretty tense."

Emma chuckled lightly, "It's okay, you can go."

Robin hesitated.

He didn't trust her, and Emma noticed.

Emma walked up to Robin and put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Robin. I promise you, I'll make sure Regina is safe," she added with a nod towards her friend that lay on the bed.

Robin gave Emma a nod of thanks.

She knew him so well.

She knew that he needed the confirmation that she was going to keep Regina safe.

It had been almost a year that Robin and Emma had known each other, and Emma really noticed the things that made Robin, _Robin_.

They way he was protective over the ones he loved, his honor, the itch for a weapon in his hands always afraid for the next bad event to occur.

' _Guess she really eyes her friend's' boyfriends'_ , Robin thought.

Robin knew for a fact that it wasn't a romantic eye. Emma just wanted to watch out for anyone or anything that would hurt Regina after everything that has happened to her in the past. Robin could tell just by looking at Regina and Emma's relationship now.

He understood that bond of friendship.

Robin left, jogging out of the room

After Robin had left the room, a memory found its way into Emma's mind, abruptly cutting off her thoughts.

 _It was one night-and only one night- Emma remembered, after Robin had gone to New York with his family. Emma, after dropping Henry off at her parents' house, had gone to Regina's mansion to talk about the "Queens of Darkness."_

 _As soon as she walked into the white mansion, Emma was hit with the pungent stench of red wine, and the small sound of crying that had met both her ears._

 _Emma confusedly and quickly turned the corner that led her into the kitchen, and was met with a sobbing Regina on the tiled floor of her kitchen, tiny shards of a crushed wine glass on the tiled floor in front of her, an open bottle of wine on the kitchen counter-more than half drunken out of it-and a splatter of red wine staining the pristine white wall in front of Regina._

 _Regina was drunk, Emma knew that much._

 _She_ was _a mess._

 _The worst Emma had ever seen her._

" _Regina!" Emma had cried as she took in the image of the convulsing and vulnerable form of her best friend._

" _Rob-Robin," Regina let out between quivering lips as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her arms were wrapped around around herself as she sat there on the glass littered tile, wracking with pain-filled sobs._

 _The blonde cautiously made her way to the brunette._

 _After everything Emma knew Regina had been through, that was what finally caused her to crack._

 _Robin._

 _Emma put out two hands of caution towards her friend._

"Are you hurt _?" The very first thing that came out of the blonde's mouth._

 _In between Regina's convulsing and hyperventilating, she could only reply with a simple shake of her head._

 _Emma let out a breath of relief._

" _Let's you get you up from this floor," Emma said picking her shaking friend up from the concrete hard tile with a grunt, an arm around her torso helping her upstairs. Noticing that Regina didn't have any shoes on, Emma moved very cautiously to avoid the pieces of glass._

 _She didn't want Regina cutting herself._

 _That would just add on to the list of troubles she knew Regina seemed to be going through at the moment._

 _As soon as Emma got Regina into bed, a cold glass of water on her friend's nightstand, and a small basin-Emma was sure she would need-on the floor beside her friend's bed, she went to go clean up the mess of glass in the kitchen._

 _The blonde made her way towards the wine bottle first. Pouring out the remaining contents down the sink; which wasn't very much, Emma set the bottle in the sink as she made her way towards the glass shards on the floor._

 _Hunting down a broom, and dustpan was fairly easy in Regina's house, as everything was organized and in the correct spot._

'I'm a Queen and a bit more refined'

 _The words from the brunette that were told to Emma that same day echo in her mind._

 _Emma grabbed the broom and the dustpan out of the supply closet on the right side of the stove and set to sweeping the tiny glass shards away, and into the dustpan, throwing the glass out in a grocery bag._

 _After a quick text to her mother and to Killian telling her that she was going to be at Regina's house for most of the night, Emma fell asleep on Regina's couch-just in case her friend needed her._

 _A few hours later, Emma woke up to the bloodcurdling scream of Robin's name on Regina's lips in her bedroom upstairs._

" _ROBIN!"_

 _Shooting up in a flash, Emma instantly got up from her spot on the grey couch, running up the stairs two steps at a time, the sound of her boots against the wooden steps echoing throughout the large mansion._

 _Approaching Regina's room, she saw the shaking form of her friend sitting up in bed, her plush comforter draped over her from the waist down, her knees pulled up to her chest, a film of sweat above her brow, breathing in and out slowly, eyes closed, trying to calm herself down._

 _Emma, fully opening the bedroom door, made her way to Regina's side sitting on the foot of the bed._

" _Nightmare?" Emma remembered herself asking._

 _Regina had looked up from her knees then, two brown orbs of depression staring into two olive green one's._

 _A slight nod from Regina told Emma what she wanted to know._

" _Wanna talk about it? It might help," The blonde asked lightheartedly._

 _Regina pushed herself to lean against the headboard of her bed, and put a hand to the other side of the bed-_ Robin's side- _Emma presumed, as if Regina could feel his presence, as if that said presence would give her strength for what she was about to say next._

 _Regina let out a shaky exhale, and before she knew it she began to sob, her body shaking._

" _H-he was dead. Robin was dead. My-my mother ripped his heart out just like she did Daniel."_

 _Not knowing the entire story of Regina's first love Daniel, Emma, deciding not to push her on it, just gathered Regina into a hug._

 _The blonde had been there until Regina had finally cried herself to sleep. Leaving a note when Regina was finally asleep saying that she was going home and to call her if she needed anything._

The memory was pulled from her mind as a voice cut through her thoughts.

"You think killing me will accomplish _anything_?" Zelena uttered from her spot in the wooden chair.

Emma turned from Regina's form on the bed to face the redhead.

"Oh _I'm_ not going to kill you, Zelena. See I _have_ my memories, so I know what you did-and I still have no idea how you even accomplished to still obtain your memories-but no one else has their memories. I want you to actually own up to what you've done. I want you to tell both Robin and Regina what you did to them. I want Regina to have the opportunity to rip your heart out and crush it into dust. Because you know she'll do it. At least that will _somewhat_ equate to the pain you caused her."

Emma instantly choked Zelena with her magic, and hand in front of her face. Anger shining in her eyes.

Zelena gasped for air.

"The way you _violated_ her in the worst way imaginable. You took something away from her she wanted to feel for _years_ probably! She wanted that, and you took that away from her as if it was nonchalant. _No_ woman should have to go through that."

" _She wanted that and you just took it like it was nothing!"_ Emma was seething mad.

"You know that what you've done will crush her emotionally, but you did it anyways because that's _just who you are_. So no, Zelena. _I'm_ not going to kill you, I'm going to let _Regina_ do that. Because that is what you deserve after everything that you've done."

Emma moved her hand from in front of Zelena's throat, cutting off the magic that was closing off Zelena's oxygen.

The witch coughed and sputtered, her face now a dark shade of crimson.

Emma stared the witch down, a look of disgust plastered on her face.

 _The memory was pulled out of Regina's mind as another was shoved back in._

 _Again, blurred spots of color spread over her vision._

 _This time she actually_ sensed _the memory._

 _Felt the rays of the sun that came through the window warming her skin, felt Robin's butterfly kisses, felt the thrum of Robin's heart against her palm. Smelled the scent of forest on Robin's bare skin._

 _The memory faded in._

 _It had been the morning after their heated night of passion._

 _Robin's tunic was off. Regina was topless; the comforter covering both of their unclothed bodies. Robin was staring at Regina's face as the sun came through the windows of the bedchamber just right, hitting Regina's face in just the right way._

 _He kissed her lips attempting to wake her._

 _And Regina could feel it in her subconscious, as if it was actually happening to her in that moment._

 _Regina saw her eyelids flutter open greeting Robin with two warm brown orbs._

 _They had fallen asleep together the previous night, her head and hand had been on Robin's chest, Robin's arm draped over Regina's sheet-covered stomach holding her close._

" _Hello"_

 _Regina could feel the vibration of Robin's voice through his chest._

 _Robin kissed her forehead once before he turned to look her in her deep brown eyes._

" _That was the best...sleep...I've had in a_ very _long time," Robin chuckled, and Regina felt it._

 _The Ex-Evil Queen let out a light laugh remembering months ago when he had told her that same exact thing after the first time they made love in Regina's stone vault._

 _Obviously nothing was better than the first time._

 _Holding the sheet to her body, Regina climbed onto Robin so that she was straddling his hips, the comforter now gathering at Regina's hips and over Robin's waist and legs._

 _Regina pecked him on the lips._

" _I love you," Regina smiled, looking into those ocean blue eyes of his._

" _I love you too, milady," Robin replied with a smile before entangling their fingers, their interlocking hands now in the middle of the bed._

" _Hey if you guys..Oh god..Why does this always happen to me!" A familiar voice yelled._

 _Emma._

 _There was yell of "Emma!" and "Swan!" in unison as Robin pulled the comforter over both him and Regina; now laying on Robin's chest,her head over Robin's shoulder, the only thing Emma could see now was the Regina's head of brown locks over the comforter._

" _What do you want, Swan?" Regina hissed lightheartedly._

 _A beat of silence._

" _I just wanted to tell you guys that breakfast is going out in about ten minutes…"_

" _That was what was so important!?" Regina yelled._

" _I'll just...go" Regina heard Emma say as she quickly walked out of the bedchamber._

 _She could hear the slight laugh in Emma's voice._

" _Yeah, you do that," Regina replied, a slight grin overtaking her lips._

 _As soon as Emma left, both Regina and Robin broke out into hysterics, Regina laying her forehead upon Robin's bare chest laughing, the sheet still pressed up against her front._

" _Well I guess we better get ready," Regina said giving Robin a peck on the lips before getting up, the sheet still pressed up against her as she stalked into the bedchamber bathroom, looking back once to throw Robin an "I love you" in a sing-song voice._

 _Regina heard Robin groan tiredly through his pillow, and Regina saw herself smile._

"What do you remember from Camelot, Zelena? My guess is _everything_. But I'm not completely sure what happened with you over there. Perhaps you can tell us?"

Robin, Snow, and Charming were now in the room, Robin now had his bow and quiver, David his gun he had grabbed from the floor and placed in the holster at his side.

Emma was now walking around Zelena. Although the blonde had healed Zelena's leg so they could interrogate her without her falling unconscious on them, she was still bound to the wooden chair with magical rope due to a specific leather-clad bleach blonde Dark One.

Zelena rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Emma's hand made its way towards Zelena's chest.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll tell you what I know!"

Emma pulled back from Zelena, a smug look plastered on her face.

"I don't have much to tell you because I was locked in my room in the castle most our time there, and half the time I was mute due to this one," Zelena nodded at her sister's limp form on the bed.

"However, the servants loved to talk," Zelena smiled wickedly.

"The first day we were there, you lot were trying to figure out a way to get Merlin out of some bloody tree. Or- he was the tree or some foolish nonsense like that. That same day, King Arthur held a ball in the Savior's honor," Zelena nodded at Regina once again, rolling her eyes.

"Wait. They said _Regina_ was the Savior?" Snow asked Zelena, confusion dripping from her tone.

"I know, I know. Emma's the Savior. 'Why didn't they say she was the Savior and this and that?'. Well Emma was the Dark One, as you all _obviously_ know. We couldn't go into Arthur's kingdom if they knew we had the most fearsome sorcerer in all the realms with us. So.. Regina had to pretend to be the Savior so that Emma wasn't found out to be The Dark One."

Everyone looked to Emma for confirmation but she ignored them, giving Zelena a nod to keep talking.

"During this ball, you and Regina," Zelena nodded at Robin, "had been dancing, when Percival, one of King Arthur's knights of the round table, cut in, claiming that he wanted a chance to dance with the Savior." Zelena scoffed, and rolled her eyes once more.

"Get to the bloody point!" Robin yelled from his spot beside Regina.

" _Well then_ , a bit _antsy_ are we?" Zelena asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Robin gave Zelena a death glare.

"Okay, okay. During this so called "ball," as Regina and Percival were dancing, he drew a sword from his sheath planning to run Regina through with it, when you tackled Percival, and were stabbed in the process," Zelena nodded at Robin, "and your knight in shining armor over here," Zelena nodded at David, "ran Percival through with his own sword, killing him."

Robin looked to the ground in shock.

"I was stabbed"

A rhetorical question, but Zelena answered it just to dig the dagger in deeper.

"Yes." Zelena said nonchalantly, "and I promise that is all I know about that so don't ask any more questions regarding that."

Zelena continued, "A couple of days afterward, one of the days when I wasn't mute, I found a way to walk the grounds of the castle by myself without Regina's consent- I just told them that I was a pregnant woman in need of fresh air-they helpfully obliged."

Zelena smiled.

Emma was burning under her skin. She wanted to slap that grin right off Zelena's face.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Emma stormed out of the room.

"I'll be right back. Keep questioning her"

Emma wanted to tell Robin so bad. Not for his pain, but for the pain Zelena would succumb under once it came out. That's what she deserved.

Emma set her elbows on the kitchen counter and set her face in her hands.

A glance to the right and she saw the wine stain from all those months ago, now a light pink.

Regina had never cleaned it up.

Emma wondered why.

 _She's Regina,_ Emma thought confusedly, _her house is always clean._

Maybe it's a reminder, Emma told herself.

A reminder of the emotional turmoil she went through that night, and that she would never let herself get to that point ever again.

That seemed like the only explanation.

 _Or she just didn't have the time to clean it because of all of the threats to our family and it faded?_ the voice of her son echoed in her mind.

Emma chuckled lightly.

She had left Henry at Granny's to watch over Baby Neal, a mug of hot cocoa with cinnamon being served in front of him by Granny just as she was leaving to go to Regina's house.

Emma's mind, again, brought her back to the prospect of Regina and Robin.

But if she didn't get Zelena to tell them, the pain would still be the same when they got their memories back..

Her thoughts were cut off with an alarming yell for help from upstairs.

"Emma!"

It was Robin.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait! Thank you to all who have been reading this story! Hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

As the memories came in flashes, Regina saw herself sitting at a large table, chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, candelabras placed on every dining table of which illuminated the dishes of breakfast items in front of them. A glance to the left, and she saw Robin, and Roland eating a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. A glance to her right and she saw Snow with David, smiling and holding Baby Neal in her arms.

Regina hadn't eaten much of anything that morning, maybe a few bites of eggs; her stomach wasn't agreeing to the food that was being served, and she had been feeling exceptionally tired and picky the last few days.

Every time she would attempt to consume any type of food, her stomach would immediately start to churn.

The memory quickly shifted and Regina couldn't see anything but there was only one thing she registered.

Something was _burning_ inside of her.

She could feel bile crawling up her throat, gathering in her stomach.

She heard the yells of her own name before she felt her own hand at her mouth, covering it.

She could feel herself run down a stairway into a room.

Regina's eyes shot open.

White spots appeared in her vision.

Her head was spinning; two of everything appeared in her line of sight.

Looking straight, her vision returning to her, she only saw a basin.

Letting out a string of curses Regina waved a hand and a toilet appeared in front of her, purple smoke dissipating around it.

She was not puking into that puny metal thing.

A wave of vertigo pulled her into its ocean of dizziness as Regina saw herself lose her footing, her kneecaps making contact with the cold bathroom floor, emptying the contents of her stomach into the pristine toilet bowl lightning quick as she held her hair back with her free hand as the other gripped the toilet, her knuckles now turning white.

Was there something in the little bit of food she had eaten that morning?

 _What the hell was happening?_

Regina could hear his thick British accent before he made it into the bathroom.

"Regina!"

The brunette couldn't respond as she was hunched over the toilet bowl, almost choking on her own bile as she tried to tell him where she was.

It was like flames were ignited within her throat. Her body was coated in sweat.

 _What had brought this on?_

It felt as if she was burning underneath her skin; the only source of cold, the metal of her engagement ring just recently purchased by Robin from a jeweler in Camelot.

The only thing that didn't let the fire consume her was that engagement ring; the only thing that didn't let her fade away into unconsciousness, and Regina had no idea why.

Robin found his lover kneeled over the toilet bowl within the washrooms of the stone castle.

He immediately went to her, rubbing her back in soothing circles and holding her hair back as she emptied the contents of her stomach -which wasn't very much.

Robin knelt by Regina's side putting the back of his free hand to her forehead.

"Gods Regina, you're burning up"

Regina began dry heaving as she felt a waterfall of sweat drip down her back.

Robin fetched her a glass of water, setting it on the counter.

For when she was finished Robin asked one of the servants for a cloth and a bucket of water.

The servant helpfully obliged, coming back with both a bucket of water and a cloth, handing both to Robin with a smile.

Robin nodded the servant off gratefully with a 'thank you', and a charming smile.

Regina, through her peripheral vision, saw Robin set the bucket of water on the table across from them, dip the cloth in the water, and wring the water out into the pail heading over to Regina.

She was leant up against the wall of the bathroom across from the toilet inhaling and exhaling slowly trying to calm her stomach.

"Did you eat something bad?" Robin asked.

Regina quickly shook her head.

"I didn't even eat that much, I was picky the entire morning. My stomach couldn't even handle eggs."

Regina closed her eyes and let out a slow exhale.

"Well perhaps you have some type of stomach bug?"

Regina didn't respond as she just kept breathing, hoping and praying to not feel the fire of bile coat her throat once more.

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out.

Robin pat the damp cloth around Regina's forehead, wiping the film of perspiration from her brow.

"Hold that there, I'm going to try to fetch some help. You are The Savior after all," Robin winked at Regina smiling slightly, as he pressed a light kiss to her hairline before leaving the room, breaking into a jog.

Regina gave a small smile to her fiancé continuing her slow and steady breaths as she couldn't argue with Robin over whether or not she needed a doctor.

She had no idea what the hell was wrong with her.

It had been almost a week that she'd felt like this, stomach queasy, waves of fatigue, until today when she had actually vomited, and now also began sweating profusely, but Robin didn't know that. She didn't want him worried sick about her after the incident in the woods with Charming just a few weeks earlier.

Regina, breathing deeply, attempted to stand, white spots instantly returning in her vision once again.

Eyes closed, she held herself against the wall, the cold biting into her forehead; a small ounce of pleasure in a sea of chaos as she began breathing deeply, in and out once more.

"Gina'?" She heard a high pitched voice from the door.

 _Roland_.

Her world stopped.

He shouldn't be seeing her like this, ill and indisposed. She was staggering like a drunk, she was certain. She could feel herself drifting as she tried her best to speak through the fire coating her throat.

"Roland," Regina swallowed thickly, "where-where's," Regina inhaled deeply ,"your father?"

There was a quick tug at her skirt, and a high pitched yell of "Papa!" as she saw herself fall inelegantly, body laying on the floor.

Darkness overtook her.

Robin gently laid Regina on the bed, the back of her head making contact with the cotton pillow softly; her dark hair now splayed around her face angelically.

The high pitched and weary voice of his son rung in Robin's ears: "Papa? What's wrong with 'Gina?"

Putting a thumb over Regina's cheekbone and kissing her hairline, Robin quickly turned around to nod at Emma, a nod that said: _take care of her while I do this_ , before he crouched down to Roland's height grabbing his little boy's small hands in his own, a fake smile plastered on his face for the sake of his son's emotions.

"I'm not sure my boy. We'll have to see when she wakes up. But right now you need to go with Granny so I can see what's wrong with 'Gina, okay?"

Roland nodded his head yes; his mop of dark brown curls moving with each incline of his head.

"Okay," his little boy answered,"But come get me when she wakes up, okay? I _need_ to be here to protect her. Okay Papa?" Roland asked a small index finger poking into his father's chest in earnest as brown eyes were dead set on his blue ones.

"Okay," Robin smiled, a twinkle of love in his blue eyes as he remembered the nickname Regina had given him during the Missing Year.

 _Her little knight_.

Robin kissed his son's head before sending him out of the room with Granny.

As soon as Roland and Granny were out of earshot, Emma decided to speak up.

"Robin."

Robin turned to the blonde, a look of fear in his eyes before his wall of strength came up covering that of his vulnerability.

 _He had to be strong. For Regina._

Emma continued, "Because I'm now the Dark One, there's some sort of form of Dark One Gold - or in this realm, Rumplestiltskin - stalking me. When I have the sense of dark magic, or I'm about to use my dark magic, he show's up to me. Like when you got stabbed and I was about to heal you? He was there, and he's here now."

"What? Why is he here now?" Robin asked, his words sharp at the edges, fear creeping into his mind.

Robin tried with all his might to shut that fear out and replace it with courage and optimism.

"Regina. She's…" Emma looked to her right side with weary eyes, "pregnant"

Robin's world stopped.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

The only sound was the labored breathing of Robin himself. Emma could see the gears moving within his head. He didn't know what to do. What to think.

Robin was thinking the worst. Just like Regina had back when the Snow Queen had made herself known in Storybrooke.

 _Are you really that much of a pessimist?_

He had no idea what was wrong with Regina, but now that he knew that she was with child, he couldn't help the yell of anger and sadness that poured out of him as he grabbed the wooden chair near the vanity in his large calloused hands and flung the the piece of furniture into the wall adjacent to him, the chair breaking into splintered pieces as soon as it made contact with the stone.

Robin threw himself into the remaining wooden chair that sat against the stone wall.

"God, this..this is my fault," Robin hung his head low as he placed his face in his hands.

Charming after looking around at all is family, at Regina's unconscious form, walked up to the archer a friendly, strong hand on his shoulder, "Robin, you had no idea this was going to happen. You can't blame yourself."

Robin shot up from the chair in an instant running his fingers through his hair, waves of anxiety washing over him as he paced the stone floor below them.

"Regina...she's now _unconscious_ David, and we have no idea whatsoever if she's going to wake up. I left her to go look for a physician-"

"For her own good," Charming interjected lightheartedly.

"It's just… I came back to the washroom to find her like that. And of all people _my son_ found her like that David. Maybe if I'd been there she wouldn't have fallen unconscious, I could have kept her awake."

"And God she's _pregnant_ ," Robin showed a second of a smile before his mouth was taken over by a frown as a stray tear escaped Robin's eye.

"What if something's wrong with the baby? It'd be all my fault. God I should've been there with her. None of this would've happened," Robin's hands covered his face - covered the tears now pouring down his cheeks.

It felt like hours before Robin felt a gentle hand wrap around his forearm.

"Robin."

A light voice filled with optimism.

Snow.

All thoughts ceased in his subconscious as he slowly brought his hands away from his bloodshot eyes.

"You can't go on like this, thinking that this is your fault. You _have_ to believe that it's just fate. That it was _fate_ that caused this to happen. Robin. It was fate that brought you and Regina together. It was _fate_ that gave you this child. That gave you your _son_."

"You have to believe _in your heart_ , that Regina is going to be fine, and she will be. She will wake up _if you have hope_. We are all wondering the same thing ' _What's happened to her?_ ' but you have to believe that she will be okay. If not for your sake then for Henry and Roland's. Granted Henry _is_ old enough to put the pieces together, you are one of the only people at the moment who is a father figure to him. You, Regina, Henry and Roland. You are a family, and family always finds a way to keep fighting, to keep _believing_."

There was a soft feeling underneath Regina's fingertips, as her own gasp moved through the air. Or at least those were the first things the brunette registered.

All noises ceased in Regina's subconscious when her heavy eyelids lifted, as consciousness returned to her body.

Regina squinted as the afternoon sunlight coming in from the windows shined in her eyes.

She was greeted with the stark white ceiling of her bedchamber - dark brown eyes scanned the entirety of the room from left to right.

A look to the left, and she saw David - Baby Neal in his arms, Henry's shoulder at his side - appeared in her line of sight. They were stranded off to the side, looks of concern for the brunette shining in their eyes.

Regina looked to the right of them and saw Emma; clad in a white cloak, and white dress.

Looking out into nothing, talking to nothing...moving her olive green eyes between the space in front of her.

Another look to the right and Robin-

 _Robin was a mess._

Tear streaks stained his face, cracked and dry, as if they'd been there for hours, his hands were shaking as he looked down at the floor, as a optimistic Snow kneeled before him, a hand on his forearm.

Regina's eyes widened as she remembered the nausea, the profuse sweating, the magic running underneath her skin and through her veins, the feeling of burning from the inside out.

And Henry saw his mother's eyes - his watery eyes never left his mother's unconscious form since she was carried into the room by Robin.

"Mom?" Regina heard her son small whisper from her left side, surprise and relief coating his tone. She could hear the smile at his voice.

Her eyes locked onto her son's face.

 _Her little prince_.

Regina slowly moved to sit up, her head moving up off the pillow, when she felt that incessant churning in her stomach. Her right hand that was lying on the bed quickly moved to lie on her abdomen; a usual act of nervousness, now an act of attempted

 _What the hell was that?_

Robin looked to Henry with concerned eyes, when Robin realized where the young man was looking - he followed Henry's trail of sight to…

 _Regina_.

Immediately taking his eyes from Emma, he laid both his eyes on Regina's form lying atop the bed, approaching her with tears - now of relief - pricking at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh god, Regina"

From her place on the bed, the brunette threw her soulmate a look of confusion as he took both her hands in his own.

Regina's brow furrowed in earnest.

"Robin. What's wrong?"

Crystal eyes bore into dark brown ones, unshed tears lining them.

"Robin you're scaring me..what's going on? Talk to me," Regina, letting go of Robin's hands, as she sat up in bed slowly with a look of discomfort. As her back leant against the headboard, she skimmed her palm over Robin's cheek as she wiped his tears away.

Regina pulled back as she looked into Robin's ocean blue eyes. To look for something _anything_ out of the ordinary. Anything different.

She could _always_ read him.

"Is something _wrong_ with me?" she asked, her tone somewhat of a middle between a question and statement as her voice quivered, but Regina deemed it to remain steady as she saw watched Robin's eyes, which thankfully calmed Regina down.

They were filled with _happiness_.

Robin grabbed her hand in his, kissing her palm as he brought both her hands in his lap.

"Robin, do you want to tell her the good news?" Emma told the blonde haired blue-eyed man that sat on the side of the bed before her, a slight smile dragging her lips upward.

Regina's eyes latched onto Robin's smile.

She couldn't even count how many times she'd seen that smile.

She saw it in the first time they'd made love in her vault. Saw it when he was playing with Roland.

She saw it when he was happy.

"News?" Regina eyed Robin, her brows furrowed.

"Robin wha-"

Robin placed a gentle hand on Regina's abdomen, the velvet of her dress smooth beneath his palm. She felt Robin's gentle, protective, and tender hand on her abdomen.

 _She'd seen that touch before_.

During the nights when they would tuck Roland into his now permanent bed at Regina's house, just across Henry's room - Robin and Roland had just moved in. She'd seen it in the numerous times Roland had fallen asleep in his father's arms, or pressed his hand to Henry's chest guarding him from danger.

That was the touch of a father.

In her mind, she again regarded the fatigue she'd been feeling for the last week, the sickness this morning, the dizziness.

Regina's breath caught in her throat, and tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, a shocked gasp coming from Regina in a mix of surprise and joy as she realized.

"Am I... pregnant?" she said vocalizing her thoughts.

Robin nodded, not able to hide his loving smile as she saw a stray tear escape his eye and run down his cheek, love shining through his ocean blue eyes.

 _How could she not of seen it sooner?_

Regina leant up to to touch Robin's cheek, a thumb wiping any trace of the tear away.

"We're going to have a baby," Regina choked out whispering between quivering lips, as she gave Robin a watery smile.

Robin smiled, love radiating from beneath his blue eyes as he stared into deep brown ones.

Regina pulled him close, bringing two hands around his torso as she hugged him.

Although it was only a hug, _and Regina wanted to more than hug Robin in that moment_ , it was contact nonetheless, and Regina was grateful.

She could feel the love for Robin and this new addition to their family stirring deep within her. She could feel the love threading underneath her skin.

Like magic but something more.

Her thoughts were instantly interrupted with the lighthearted but forced sound of her name on Emma's lips.

Instantaneously, Regina's cheeks began to burn as she lay her forehead onto Robin's shoulder, smitten.

"Congratulations to the both of you. But before we all go, Gold has a a couple things to tell you about your baby-"

"-Gold? He's here? He can't be, he's in a coma," Regina interjected, quickly stating with a voice of confusion and irritation.

"Yeah he's here - well the Enchanted Forest version of him. Ever since I became The Dark One he's been kind of my mind I guess. When I went to heal Robin and you all thought I was talking to myself? I was actually talking to Gold - or Rumplestilitskin - or whatever you'd like to call him here. He showed up to me..told me that I needed to find you," Emma locked eyes with Regina, her voice somewhat distant.

"To tell me that I'm pregnant..?" Regina asked, confusion flooding her tone.

Everyone saw Emma throw a glance at her right side - to Rumplestiltskin - and move her eyes to Regina and Robin once more.

Regina looked to her friend in concern, her brows furrowing and her eyes growing warm. If she herself had the Dark One version of Rumplestiltskin stuck inside her head, she would surely go mad.

Emma nodded, "I'm not sure why he came to me to tell me that, but he did."

"Wait. He told you? Is there anyway for us to see him; to talk to him?" Regina asked.

"I can try to make him visible," Emma nodded at her friend.

"Wait," Regina said forcefully from her spot on the mattress, "Emma, the more you use your dark magic, the more it will be harder for you to let go of it."

Regina stared awhile looking at her friend the whiskey colored eyes, "Trust me I know"

Emma shook her head quickly, "Regina I have to do this. I don't even know how your magic works now with you in your condition, nevermind communicating that type information to you from Gold."

Hazel-green eyes looked into whiskey colored ones with the love of a friend.

In seconds Regina realized what her friend had said: "Communicating 'that type' of information."

What type of information was it? Was something wrong with her magic? Her child?

Before Regina had a chance to ask, she looked over at her blonde friend-a mask of concentration had gone over her features; furrowed brows, eyes shut tight, hands steady in front of her.

A second later, and a puff of grey smoke made itself visible before the group, dissipating to reveal a scaly, crocodile-like Rumpelstiltskin. A minute to look over her old mentor's presence, and Regina realized Captain Guyliner's nickname, in actuality, made a lot of sense.

"Hello dearies," Rumple waved a scaly hand as he let out his infamous sinister giggle.

Regina looked on with eyes illustrating the feeling of irritation, but also fear for her child as the villain made himself known to everyone in the room.

Rumple's bright green-brown eyes trailed along the heroes to land on the brunette in the bed.

Rumple could read her easily, "Don't worry Regina I'm not going to harm you or-" he stepped back a moment, startled and wide eyed.

"What?" Regina snapped, her tone devoid of anything but irritation.

"Light magic. I can feel it-and a lot of it at that. No one has ever possessed that much light magic other than Miss Swan herself," Rumple said stepping closer to Regina's still form seated on the mattress in the middle of the bedchamber.

"Oh yes she is very powerful," Rumple pointed a scaly finger towards Regina's stomach.

Robin stood so he was covering his true love, standing between her and the monstrous imp that stood before him.

Regina's gasp could be heard from behind Robin's protective form in front of her.

"She..? We're having a daughter?" Regina went to grab Robin's hand; a quick act of love.

Rumplestiltskin walked closer towards Regina in interest.

Robin, for a quick second, let go of Regina's hand, to put a steady hand to the mad man's chest stopping him from getting any closer, "You aren't getting any closer to Regina, or our child," Robin whispered harshly, "Speak. Now. Or so help me I will kill you where you stand," Robin shoved the imp back a few feet, eyeing his bow and quiver of arrows that sat against the head of the bed.

"A bit testy are we? And you can't kill me thief. I'm only a figure of Miss Swan's imagination," Rumple's accented voice shined through his Dark One facade.

"I knew she possessed light magic I just didn't know it was to this extent. I overheard the thief here," Rumple nodded at Robin, "tell Miss Swan that you had gotten sick this morning, which leads me to my next detail."

Emma rolled her eyes at, 'Miss Swan'

"But wasn't that just morning sickness from the baby?" Robin interjected, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"That would seems so, and yes it was morning sickness. To a certain extent. However, based on what you told Miss Swan regarding Regina's sickness this morning, it seems as if your child possesses magic all on it's own."

Regina put a steady hand to where her child was.

"She has magic?" Regina asked.

"Yes. The magic of true love, of course," Rumplestiltskin replied.

Regina and Robin gave each other a second of a glance, love in their eyes, before looking at Rumplestiltskin once more.

"How do you know for certain?"

"Well I can feel it in the air, dearie. The minute I came into this very room, I could feel the presence of light magic-your child."

"Why was my morning sickness that bad? I mean I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. My engagement ring was the only thing that could keep me from fainting. Why?" Regina asked.

"Well," Rumplestiltskin started, "you did begin to have regular morning sickness, but then your child sensed it, and was attempting to stop the nausea, causing you to feel faint, and dizzy. Mr. Locksley told me you were also sweating profusely, which if I view it correctly, was your daughter's magic trying to heal you," Rumple explained.

"As for your ring, it is an object of true love. That, and initially any act of true love are the only things that can calm your child down, or rather her magic. The simple fact that your child is of both soulmates and true love is an explicit example of that."

Regina looked out into nothing with wide tear filled eyes. Her daughter wasn't going to turn towards the darkness, she would make sure of it. Her daughter wouldn't have to suffer through the tremendous torture of having dark magic. It was light, and she was going to make sure it stayed that way.

 _Evil isn't born, it's made_.

The brunette's watery whiskey eyes laid themselves on the scaly man before her, confusion evident in her dark orbs, "Why are you telling me these things?" Regina asked. "No version of Rumpelstiltskin would ever help me of all people. Plus there's always a price with you. How does this help you?" Regina stared at her mentor with eyes of agitation and curiosity.

He was keeping something from them.

"What aren't you telling us?"

An eyebrow raised as Regina eyes locked on to her mentor; cold and curious.

Rumplestiltskin's eyes looked to the floor, "Well, there is a prophecy…"

"What? Well..what's this prophecy?" Regina asked immediately as her eyes flicked to her mentors widening.

The room filled with silence, save the labored breaths of Regina herself as another wave of nausea hit her. Luckily nothing came up.

"What prophecy!" Regina yelled, fire coating her words. Her voice grew loud as she swung her legs off the bed and charged straight at the imp. Fortunately, Robin was able to grab her at her upper arms before she even got a foot away from the thousand upon thousand year-old sorcerer.

Regina froze.

Three deep breaths.

That's what Dr. Hopper - Archie had said just weeks ago during the sessions in which she would confess her sins, and relay her thoughts to the shrink. Ever since the incident with Zelena in New York, Regina couldn't speak to anyone about her feelings about the situation. Until she signed up for weekly appointments with Archie even Robin didn't know about.

Anytime she would feel a hint of dejection Archie informed her that deep breathing would calm her down; and it had worked.

Three deep breaths and she would be okay.

One deep breath in.

Any prophecy had the opportunity to end in immorality and darkness, Regina knew.

One deep breath out.

Rumple looked at Regina, his eyes shining with interest and a sudden sense of sympathy, weirdly enough.

"There was, is a prophecy that states that a female child born from two parents that carry the truest of love, and are soulmates will defeat Hades, Lord of the Underworld."

Regina stopped breathing.

Emma, looking at the panicked look on her friends face, and decided to take over with the questions.

Emma looked to the crocodile-like man before her.

He was exactly how Emma saw him months go when Killian and her had fallen through Zelena's time portal.

"And how does this concern you? What do you get out of it?"

"As I am now in my comatose state back in Storybrooke, my Dark One being was brought here to be a guide into the dark for _you_. But you don't have to worry Miss Swan, I am not here to harm anyone, just here to warn and aid."

"So you are only here to... help us?" Emma asked, confusion taking over her features.

"Precisely. And that may seem a bit out of character for me, but the only person that can wake me is you Miss Swan, and I would, very much, like to be conscious."

"But that doesn't give us our answer," Regina's hoarse voice could be heard from behind Robin, as she had sat down at the side of the bed, legs thrown over the mattress.

She looked up at her mentor with empty eyes, "What do _you_ get out of my daughter's _suffering_?"

"Dearie, there is no suffering involved in the fact that your daughter was chosen to defeat the Lord of The Underworld-"

"Facing _any_ villain is suffering enough! Trust me, I would know!" Regina yelled, interrupting him, her voice cracking at the edges as her mind brought her back to the idea of her abusive mother.

Regina breathed in and out slowly - as Archie taught her - attempting to gain back her composure.

She put a gentle hand to her abdomen. _She would_ not _turn into her mother_.

"I get nothing from this but the fact that you now know who exactly is after your child."

Regina's eyes widened in panic as a guttural growl gathered in her throat.

" _Hades._ "

Zelena stood outside Regina's bedchambers more than six feet away from the wooden door, as she was hidden behind one of the walls of the castle's dark corridors.

She heard all about the large incident of Regina's sickness that morning from the talkative servants that had spread the information of the incident around the castle.

Supposedly Regina had collapsed in the washroom just below the dining hall, and Robin had carried her to her bedchamber.

Panic had arisen just afterwards.

 _What had happened to the Savior?_ really the only question plaguing the minds of the citizens of Camelot.

No one knew anything of what had happened save the servants around the kitchens, and obviously the dreadful heroes.

Zelena rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Her thoughts were interrupted then as Zelena heard the small voice of Robin's son, along with the old woman who owned the diner, Zelena knew - Granny; they had just exited the room.

"Granny, what's wrong with 'Gina?" she heard the little boy ask, his mop of brown hair moving as he inclined his head upwards to look up at the old woman before him.

"I'm not sure Roland. Only time will tell," the old woman replied, a wariness coating her words.

As soon as Granny and the boy had left the vicinity, walking away with both of their backs facing the witch, Zelena took it as her chance to eavesdrop.

Whatever these bloody heroes were conversing about, it must've been good if the boy couldn't have stayed to hear it.

She came from the shadows, the sunlight shining on her hair turning it to a fire red, her eyes shining as the sunlight hit them to depict the image of crystals.

Looking around, making sure no one had the ability to see her, the mute handmaiden that was Zelena crept closer to the room, setting her ear close to the wood of the door.

Although she couldn't speak, she had the ability to hear everything those bloody heroes were saying. The redhead picked up little pieces of speech from inside the room _Regina; she's…pregnant_

The sound of a guttural cry and wood splintering met Zelena's ears a few minutes later.

Zelena looked through one of the uncovered spots in the wooden doors cracks.

Zelena's blood turned to led then. Again Regina had something she wanted.

 _Love._

She could see it in the way Robin threw himself into the chair beside the vanity. In the way his eyes dropped to the ground in a mix of shock and anger at himself. In the way his eyes filled with love for Regina.

 _Zelena wanted someone to feel like that with her. She wanted someone to actually_ _ **care**_ _about her._

Zelena thought of the man that made her doubt that. She thought of the days in Oz when they had teamed together to go back in time, which had eventually produced a love she'd never thought possible.

She thought of Hades.

After New York, Zelena had thought she'd won. That she'd had one of the large people her sister had cared about.

 _Her sister's true love._

She thought she could crush her sister's hope as Robin spewed the words of the redhead's pregnancy, of which he didn't know was a lie. There was no baby. No pregnancy. Just a reason for Robin to stay with her. She didn't know what she was going to do when they learned the truth.

Zelena remembered feeling happiness fill her entire being as her eyes locked onto Regina's face, and the stray tear that had made its way down her sister's cheek that night.

Zelena smiled as a devilish idea made its way into her mind.

And idea that would surely crush Regina. Zelena smiled devilishly at the prospect.

The words from The Savior came to the witch's mind once more:

 _Regina; she's… pregnant._

A diabolical smile appeared on the witch's face as her own words from months ago materialized within her mind.

 _I will have everything you ever had._

A glance at the torches lining the walls, and Zelena was reminded of Hades, and the words he last spoke to her the last time they were together.

 _You will regret this, Zelena_.

Zelena knew exactly what she was going to do, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her. This was going to be a surprise. A surprise that would make Regina suffer.

All she needed was Hades's help to do it.

Zelena smiled at the prospect of her sister's pain as she turned swiftly to walk down the stone corridor careful to not let anyone spot her, letting herself be concealed by the shadows.

 **Please review! I'd love to know what you all think!**


	11. Chapter 11

Regina, in her subconscious, could feel a certain silence filled the expanse of the bedchamber as the tension in the room weighed down on Regina's shoulders.

She put a gentle hand to her abdomen, forcing the tears of dejection and dread out of her eyes.

Her daughter was in danger, and heroes and fairness be damned if she was going to let the Lord of The Underworld come anywhere close to her children.

She would fight.

Fight for Robin. Fight for Henry. Fight for _her daughter_.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the crocodile-like man before her began to speak, "Hopefully that helps somewhat, do with it what you will. Ta ta!" Rumplestiltskin grinned.

With a quick wave of the madman's hands, smoke the color of grey had appeared around the man's body as he let out an infamous giggle before he disappeared from the bedchamber. A puff of smoke, now dissipating, was left in his place.

Robin was the first to speak as he took his place beside Regina, clasping her a hand in his.

"So what's the plan? Do we wait for Hades to come after our child or do we go after him?" Robin's face was devoid of anything but anger.

Henry, who looked to the blonde haired, blue-eyed man before him, was surprisingly the first to reply.

"I think we should start with getting the darkness out of Mom, then whatever happens, we be extra cautious and protect my other Mom," Henry nodded at Regina, "at all costs. From what I remember reading in the Storybook of Hades, he isn't able to leave the Underworld so I think we're good for now. I think we should start with protecting both my sister and my Mom, whether it's anything regarding Hades, or anyone else who wants to harm them," Henry threw Regina a small reassuring smile, "while we try to get the darkness out of my other Mom," Henry nodded at Emma.

Charming nodded, a proud grin plastered on his face.

"Sounds like a good plan, Henry." he stated, setting a strong hand on his grandson's shoulder.

It was then that fast footsteps and a low voice sounded near the entrance of the bedchamber.

"Swan"

Everyone turned towards the noise in curiousity.

It was the pirate.

Emma turned around quickly hearing the sound of her lover's' voice, "Hey..Is everything okay?" she took both the pirate's hook and his hand in her own.

"Yes everything's fine. I just wasn't able to find you and got worried. Then everyone told me what happened," Killian looked to Regina sitting at the edge of the bed.

"I heard of your falling ill this morning, unfortunately most of the servants in the royal court heard. I heard them conversing about it as I was walking here."

Robin threw Regina a look of question, _do you want me to tell him of the pregnancy?_

Regina nodded to Robin.

"Regina...she's with child. I think everyone within our immediate group should be informed just in case. That's why she was sick.. and the child is mine," Robin couldn't help the grin of happiness that slipped over his features.

Killian threw Robin a small smirk, "Well I'd say congratulations are an order," Killian clapped Robin on the back.

"Thank you, Killian"

Robin grinned slightly as he locked eyes with the ex-pirate, remembering how just weeks earlier, both himself and Killian had talked of how they were planning to spend the future with their lovers.

" _I'm no Snow White, but I think you should try to have some hope for you and your lass. I've learned one thing after spending so much time around the Charming family,: If you have hope, usually things will work themselves out for you in the end. Mate, If you want to ask the Queen for her hand, go ahead. Nothing's stopping you. Not this damned fate that everyone keeps blabbering on about. You choose your_ own _fate or destiny - whatever you want to call it. After my many years as a pirate that is the one concept that has reiteratively rung true," Robin remembered Killian telling him as they both shared Killian's flask as they both sat against a stable's wooden structure, the fire of alcohol coating and burning as rum trailed down their throats._

The blue of Robin's eyes conveyed the emotion of contentment and pride for his friend turned good.

Robin's thoughts were soon interrupted as Emma spoke, "Merlin needs me to meet him in the forest, I'll be back by nightfall, don't worry," Emma said to the gang, as she quickly hugged her son, parents, and Killian accompanied with and _I love you_ , before throwing Regina a small smile and a state of "Congratulations" before she walked towards the door to exit the room. As soon as she made it outside the door, Killian cursed himself for not stopping her and jogged swiftly after her.

"Swan, wait."

Emma was only a few feet away from the entrance of the Queen's bedchamber before she swiveled upon hearing her lover's voice. Killian grabbed Emma's hand in his, stopping her as he pulled her slightly towards the wall outside the wooden doored entrance to Regina and Robin's bedchamber.

"Killian, I have to go meet Merlin and I can't be late. He thinks he knows of a way to rid me of the darkness for good. 'The Flame of Prometheus'; If I can get it to ignite, I can be used to bind the dagger and the broken sword, reforming Excalibur," Emma smiled, optimism shining through her features.

"You'll return by nightfall?" Killian asked.

"Yes. We go get this spark thing, and then I'm working my way back to you, babe," Emma smiled.

"I know when you're quoting something," Killian threw Emma a smirk.

"And I love that you never know what it is. Anyway, with a bit of luck, we can put Excalibur together tomorrow, and then... bam... No more darkness."

"Be careful, Emma"

Killian raised an arm to a necklace that laid around his neck, pulling it from around his neck. "Whoa," Emma laughed nervously, "Whoa, whoa, whoa."

He now had the necklace in his hand, holding it up in front of him to reveal a ring that had gone through the silver chain of the piece of jewelry.

Killian smiled, "Calm down, Swan. I'm not proposing"

A beat of silence.

"You know I'm a survivor. This ring is why. I've had it for many years. It once belonged to a man braver and more courageous than I. It was a good luck charm of sorts, and I think it's the reason I'm alive. Or it could be. Who knows?"

Emma sighed.

"You know I can't die today. I'm immortal now."

Killian's face went serious; his light blue eyes now tinged with a slight darkness and worry; his mouth set in a thin line.

"Anyone can kill anyone, there's _always_ a way, a loophole, and the Dark One is immortal. Emma isn't. Bring her home to me," Killian smiled slightly, "At the very least, this ring is a reminder that you've got a piercing-eyed, smoldering pirate here who loves you," Killian replied.

"Thank you. I love you, too"

The couple parted ways with a kiss before Killian retreated back into the Queen's bedchamber, a continuous nervousness clawing at his insides.

As he approached the gang once more, he heard the sure and tired voice of Snow White in a large exhale.

"So what should we do next? The sooner we leave this place the better"

"We should find Excalibur, or at least what's left of it. Don't you remember what Merlin told us this morning? He said we need to find the sword in order for him to reforge both the sword and the dagger to create the original Excalibur," Regina said from her place at the side of the bed, her voice sure.

As she hadn't talked in minutes, which was so unlike her, Snow was startled by her friend's speech.

""We"? Regina I'm not going to put you _and_ our child in danger. That's out of the question," Robin was the next to speak. Forceful, but love could still be heard in his tone.

"Robin I'm not an _invalid_ , I'm pregnant," Regina argued.

Seeing that this was somewhat of an intimate moment between the couple, David decided to speak up.

"I'm gonna get everyone to head over to Granny's. When you're done talking this out, meet us there in about half an hour, there we'll come up with a plan to break into the castle."

David waited a beat, testing the waters before he continued, "Would you like want me to bring Zelena?"

At the mention of Zelena, Regina flinched; eyes closed in irritation. Robin gave Regina's hand a tight squeeze.

Robin looked to David, giving him a solemn nod.

Although she was now mute, Zelena, being Zelena, would surely cause some amount of trouble. They had to keep eyes on her at all times.

David nodded back at Robin in confirmation.

"Of course," David set a strong hand on Henry's shoulder, "C'mon Henry."

Henry nodded his reassurance at his grandpa, before he walked over to his other mother who sat on the bed, gathering her in a hug. Regina's arms instantly snaked around her son's torso.

"I love you Mom, and I _am_ happy for you," Henry whispered for only his brunette mother to hear before he pulled back, and began walking out of Regina's bedchamber with Hook, and Snow.

Robin pulled David somewhat to the side of the room talking low, "Don't mention Regina's pregnancy around Zelena, who knows what she could do, even with her magic impotent."

"Of course," David set a strong hand on his before leaving the bedchamber.

Robin waited a few beats before speaking again. He was now sitting next to Regina on the bed, their hands clasped together on his lap, dark blue eyes looking in watery whiskey brown ones.

"Regina, I can't let you do this. I don't want to risk it"

"Robin, I'm the _only_ one who has the magic to help get the sword back from Arthur, and I am _not_ under _any_ circumstances letting Emma use her magic any more than she has to when I can use my own perfectly fine."

Robin held Regina's hands tight in between his own.

"We can find another way, there is _always_ another way."

Robin sighed.

"What will it take for you to stay here while I do this?" he asked.

"Nothing. Because I'm coming with you. My friends, my _family_. They need help. _My_ help; and when family needs help you step up. You do whatever you can to aid them. Because they're your _family_. Robin they're the very first people I even _considered_ family. The very first people who saw me for _me._ Not the _Evil Queen_ , or _villain_ ; just _Regina_. Now I have you, and Roland, and this baby…our _daughter_ ," Regina put a gentle hand to her abdomen, not being able to help the watery smile that graced her lips.

"And while we're out there today, I will do whatever it takes to keep our daughter safe; keep _myself_ safe. I promise I will tell you if anything is wrong, okay?"

Robin eyed his fiancé with scanning her eyes for hints of pain, or sorrow.

 _She was so great at hiding her sorrow._

But Robin always saw through that facade. Robin knew better than to think that there was never something she wasn't thinking back to, something she wasn't thinking about that brought back old _dark_ memories.

Because that's who she was. She believed apologies only made a person weak, that they only apologized in attempts to assuage their own guilt. That actions spoke louder than words.

As Robin looked into those whiskey brown eyes he saw no trace of darkness, no distress and anguish that her eyes were so prone to masking.

Instead he saw elation and contentment.

Robin smiled.

"I promise," Regina smiled that _elusive but satisfying smile_.

"Okay," Robin replied.

"Okay," Regina pecked Robin on the lips.

"I love you," the brunette stated as she pulled back with a smile.

"I love you too milady," Robin couldn't help the smile grace his face as he remembered the first time she had said those three words just weeks ago.

It was the night Emma had given herself to the darkness.

He remembered it clearly.

 _They had come home that night, the house quiet. Henry had gone to the Charming's to provide comfort, the good virtued and optimistic boy that he was, and Roland was in his bed. There would be no bedtime story for him that night._

 _Robin remembered clearly what she had said the minute they had climbed into bed together. The night quiet - silent. No noises sounding through the night save the regular breathing of the two soulmates, and the chirps of the crickets outside the window._

" _God this is all my fault", she had said as her voice cracked at the edges, with hands covering her face as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes._

 _Robin had grabbed her hands in his and turned her to him, then. Tight, to tether her to reality, to cut off those dreadful memories and dark thoughts from consuming her._

" _No," he told her; deep and sure, "Do_ not _blame yourself for what's happened. You couldn't have stopped her. Love, this was Emma's choice. She_ chose _to save you. She chose to save her_ friend _. Like she said, 'You've worked too hard to have your happiness destroyed.' You've come to far to have yourself turn into what you were all those decades ago. But we_ will _find a way to get her back, I promise you. I don't know what I would've done if I'd have lost you." Robin remembers himself telling her as he held her in their bed, her head on his chest, his arm snaked around her midriff._

 _There had been a few beats of silence._

" _You would've kept going because that's what I would've want you to do. If something should ever happen to me, I'd want you to keep going. I'd want you to cook the kids breakfast every morning, read Roland bedtime stories, have more of those heart-to-heart talks I know you and Henry have already had," Regina let a small smile slip through, " I would want you to carry on as if I never left."_

" _I…" a few seconds of silence, and Robin exhaled deeply._

" _I love you Robin," he remembered her responding, in a quick low whisper._

 _Again, "I love you"._

" _I love you too, and I always will." Robin had kissed the crown of Regina's head just before they fell asleep in each other's' arms._

 _Robin remembered the smile that graced his lips the minute he heard the three words. He remembered not being able to wipe it off of his face for most of the night._

 _He remembered how much it took for her to say those three words, in fear that she would lose but another love._

Robin was then brought back to reality as he felt the weight in the bed shift.

Regina had stood up from the bed, and was now outstretching her hand towards Robin, a smile plastered on her face.

"We have almost fifteen minutes before we have to meet the others. Want to head to Roland's room? I'm sure he's worried."

Robin felt his feet make contact with the floor as he walked closer to his soulmate.

"How did you know he was worried about you?" Robin asked in curiousity.

"I had no idea. Instinct, I guess," she replied.

 _Mother's instinct_ , Robin couldn't help the smile that pulled his lips upwards.

"Well let's head to our boy's room"

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the mention of 'our boy'.

Robin interlocked his hand with Regina's as they walked along the stone corridor to Roland's room.

"Are we planning to tell Roland of the pregnancy?" Robin asked.

"Not yet," Regina replied quickly, "It's too early. We should tell him when I start showing so he understands better. I mean, that seems like the easiest way, right?"

"Right," Robin smiled as he kissed the knuckles of Regina's hand that was entangled with his.

As soon as they made it to the little boy's room, the first things Regina registered were the high-pitched excited yell of "'Gina!" and a child-like weight that collided against her stomach accompanied with tiny amounts of pressure on her lower back.

Roland had hugged her.

Robin threw his son a look of trepidation.

Although his son did not see this look, Regina did, and gave Robin a small reassuring smile that said ' _I'm okay, she's okay'_ before she looked down to see a bush of brown curls. She brought a hand up to the boy's head, running a hand through his mop of dark brown curls.

Moving Roland's hands from her lower back, and gathering them in her own, Regina bent down so she was to Roland's eye level; so she was looking into those adorable brown orbs.

Robin had a delicate grip on her arm as she bent down, just in case.

Regina couldn't help but smile at the way Robin wanted to aid her in every way possible.

She looked back to the boy and smiled.

"Hello my little knight _."_

"I missed you so much 'Gina!" the little boy smiled.

"And I missed you too"

"Are you feeling better?"

"I'm feeling much better, thank you for asking," she said tickling the little boy in the stomach lightheartedly.

Roland giggled, a small smile on his face.

Then his smile faded as his tiny dark eyes looked around the room.

"Where's Henry?" the little boy asked, sadness clouding his eyes as he looked around for the teenager.

"He's with Snow and Charming right now, but I'm sure he can come visit you in a few minutes. How does that sound?"

A brightness returned to the boy's dark brown orbs.

"Now we will be _right_ back. Stay with Granny while we go get Henry. Okay?"

Roland nodded with a smile, "Okay 'Gina."

"Great," Regina smiled as she went to stand up from her kneeled position in front of Roland.

Robin instantly placed a steady hand on Regina's lower back as she slowly stood and made her way outside the room itself.

The last things Regina heard were Granny's footsteps as she walked up to Roland inside the room, and the the word 'Ice Cream' in Roland's soft speech.

Regina couldn't help but smile as she heard the little boy go off on a tangent about the different ice cream flavors he had discovered in Storybrooke.

 _God how she loved that little boy._

Her thoughts were instantly interrupted as she felt Robin's hand entangled with hers; calloused and warm.

She inclined her head to observe the stone walls around them as they walked down the castle's corridor towards the entrance doors; tapestry covered them.

She thought back to the night a little over a week earlier, when she couldn't breathe inside this castle. How before she had gone outside to the woods, she had known of the tapestries lining the stone walls but had never stopped to glance at what they presented.

As she looked at them now, Regina realized that the first tapestry strip depicted the image of a lion; one that unusually looked an awful lot like Robin's tattoo - she made a mental note to ask Robin about that later. Regina looked to the right of the lion; a sword. On another strip, an image of two arrows crossing over one another.

As both her and Robin approached the two wooden entrance doors of the castle, Regina looked to Robin's face, with a small smile.

But her smile had been reduced to a frown as her eyes focused on her soulmate.

The blue of his eyes weren't bright and ablaze with hope and contentment like usual, rather they were filled with a sudden darkness, a sudden dejection and self-loathing.

Robin went to open the door, and lead Regina through, but Regina stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Robin. You okay?"

Robin's eyes flitted to Regina's, a forced smile instantly appearing on his face, a mask of delight and optimism slipping up over his features.

"Yes, of course. Everything's fine," Robin placed a hand on Regina's lower back as he led her through the large wooden doors of the castle, "After you m'lady," Robin threw her one of his charming smiles.

Regina couldn't help but think there was something he wasn't telling her, some secret.

 _I was once, long ago, quite different._

She made another mental note to bring it up in conversation later in the privacy of their own bedchamber.

Regina walked through the castle's wooden doors making her way towards the building in the middle of the forest that was Granny's Diner with Robin by her side.

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

Snow was the first to speak up.

Everyone was now circled around one of the tables at the diner, looking at a drawn up map of the castle itself.

They had sent Henry back to the castle to go occupy Roland as they were planning their attack. Charming was next to Snow, and Hook next to Regina and Robin, all thinking aloud of ideas to break into the castle to acquire the broken sword. Zelena, still mute, was lying on Granny's countertop a hand on her forehead in boredom.

"We should take them by surprise - go in through the front gate," David spoke up.

"Well, after our jailbreak, they'll be on high alert. We need a diversion at the drawbridge. The rest of us can climb over the wall on the side," Killian supplied, pointing with his hook to a lined structure of the parchment map of the outside of the castle itself.

Regina looked at both men, whiskey eyes flitting between the two.

"Are you forgetting? I've got magic. I can just poof into Arthur's bedroom"

Robin threw Regina a hidden look of apprehension.

They wouldn't introduce even the _idea_ of Regina's pregnancy around Zelena. They didn't know what she was going to do if she found out, even without her magic. However, Robin couldn't help the nervous look from appearing on his face at the minute he heard of Regina using her magic.

It was then that Zelena scoffed. The first noise she had made the entire time they had been occupying the diner.

"What?" Regina stared daggers at her sister, fire underneath her tone.

Zelena gestured a hand at the sorceress.

"Well, if you're going to make a scene, you might as well make noise," Regina claimed with an eyebrow pulled upwards. With a wave of Regina's hand a _whoosh_ was heard throughout the diner.

Zelena could speak again.

Zelena exhaled as she smiled a smile hinted with agitation, "Oh! Thank you. I do love hearing a sensible person talk"

Robin rolled his eyes at the prospect.

"Spit it out. What are you thinking?" Regina replied nothing but annoyance in her tone. She wasn't going to play games with her sister. Not today.

"I'm thinking going in the front... suicide. Diversion... Arthur hides the sword. You need it on him. And you could poof right in front of a blade. Oopsie!" Zelena covered her mouth in mock surprise.

Robin's eyes widened at the thought of Regina suffering injuries or even death or the harm that could come to their daughter.

"Well..what do you suppose we do?" Robin replied, anger within his undertone.

Zelena looked to Robin, "You need to sneak in so quietly... No one knows you're there."

"How? Hang glider? Oh, giant slingshot!" Charming supplied with sarcasm.

"If Sir-Castic would let me speak, I'd tell you that I wasn't idle during those days in there, playing mute handmaiden at Regina's side," Zelena looked to Charming with eyes filled with annoyance, " _I_ was plotting an escape," Zelena smiled.

Upon hearing this Regina's head inclined quickly staring at her sister with eyes of fire.

" _I knew it_ "

Zelena's eyes filled with delight for her sister's anger, "And _I_ found a way out. And if I know a way out, I know a way in."

Regina looked on with eyes of confusion and curiosity, "You're going to help us?"

More of a statement then a question.

"Of course. Because you're going to help me. I want my magic back," Zelena uttered from her spot on Granny's countertop.

"What makes you think we'll take that bloody cuff off of you? Who knows what you'll do," Killian replied from his spot near the outlaw.

"Well I'm guessing you want my help, do you not?"

Regina rolled her eyes as her eyes flicked to Zelena's, "We make it out of this safe, _with the sword_? then we'll talk."

Regina grabbed Robin's hand and stormed out of Granny's with nothing more than and eye roll and a "let's go greenie."

The scent of pine and dirt was registered in Regina's sense of smell as the gang made their way over to the place in which Zelena claimed that there were a set of secret abandoned tunnels that would lead them to where they wanted to go.

 _He's smells like forest._

Regina smiled at the distant memories of flying monkeys and wicked witches. But then her smile dropped at the thought of sleepless nights, when she would stand in front of her apple tree at night, and sorrow would consume her entire being.

The tie of darkness was cut as she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?"

 _Snow_.

"Yes," Regina exhaled slowly, "I'm fine."

"Remember you tell _any_ of us if something I wrong, okay?" the brunette whispered low enough so Zelena wouldn't here.

Regina nodded in reassurance.

The gang approached a metal grate surrounded by stone walls with ease and caution.

Zelena nodded at the grate, "It's a tunnel, abandoned for years. It will lead you to the courtyard."

"Well, if it's so good, why didn't you escape through it?" Hook retorted.

Zelena rolled her crystal eyes.

"Observe the prodigious metal grate, Pirate," Zelena flexed the wrist with the black cuff on it, smiling, "You see without magic, I'm a delicate thing."

David approached the metal grate, looking into it with keen eyes.

"Well, it leads in the right direction. Looks like your information is good, at least this far," he added.

"Thank you," Zelena looked to Charming then to Regina, "Now I've done my part. You can do yours. Take off this bloody cuff," Zelena threw eyes that depicted the sharpness of daggers at her sister.

"For all we know, this leads to the guards' quarters. Again, we make it out _safe_ with the sword? then I'll let think it over."

Regina looked to her closest friend to her right.

"Mary Margaret, how do you feel about guard duty?" Regina smiled complacently.

"Oh, I'd be delighted. We'll chat, have plenty of pregnancy tips," the brunette smiled.

"Good God," Zelena groaned with a roll of her eyes, "this is worse than being in my cell"

Regina walked closer to the grate, Robin stepped along with her.

"Okay everyone. Let's go get that sword," Regina spoke to the group as she waved a hand over the massive metal grate, a purple aura going over the bars before the entire grate disappeared itself.

Robin let out a large breath he had been holding, "Okay."

He reached to his quiver, nocked an arrow, and walked in front of his fiancé, covering her.

Drawing his bow, Robin nodded to David - who unsheathed his sword - and Killian - who raised a hand which also carried a sword, as well as his hooked hand - as Robin began checking to see if every crevice of the hallway was clear before he let Regina set foot in the hallway.

As soon as he reached the end of the hallway, he called David over to his side.

"Someone should cover Regina, or take up the rear. I don't want her getting hurt, with the baby and all.." he whispered to his friend as Regina was out of earshot.

"Sure thing," David gave Robin a small pat on the back and a reassuring smile before he ventured to the back to fall in line with Regina.

"Okay, we're clear," Robin called softly to the back, careful not to be too loud so the royal guards couldn't hear him.

They walked a few feet further.

It was then that they heard chatter coming from the area in front of them.

Robin stuck his hand out to the group, "Wait"

Everyone stopped, but Regina walked further; curious to see why they had stopped.

Robin threw her a look of warning and caution and Regina instantly gave Robin a reassuring and knowing smile as she moved opposite him. They stood behind the stone wall of the tunnel; their only source of coverage for the time being.

It was then that they saw two guards walking, their backs to the heroes.

Regina looked on further to see that they were carrying a black bubbling and smoking cauldron.

Robin's eyes widened as his eyes caught onto the same thing.

"I suppose that's for us?" Regina muttered to the group.

"Well I don't think we want to find out. Let's keep moving," Killian answered.

"We should find our way to the Round Table, that's probably where the sword is being held," Charming added, "when Arthur knighted me, he said he kept all of his weapons in there."

"Yeah but the weapon that could essentially kill us? He probably hid it somewhere," Robin added.

"But lucky for us, my thieving days are not over. A friend reminded me of that," Robin smirked at Killian, "I can be a helpful aid in finding this sword-or this broken sword, that is," Robin looked at Regina in question.

"If he has the sword, power or not, it's still a problem. We need that sword to save Emma. That's our goal, and I want to get out of this realm as soon as possible," Regina put a gentle hand on her flat abdomen; the simple fact that her child could be in danger because of her toying with her mind.

She couldn't help but think of what it would be like if they had never ended up in this realm.

She wouldn't have had the infertility potion she had consumed all those years ago undone, she would never have had this chance to carry a baby - her and Robin's baby. _Their daughter._

Robin threw Regina a look of understanding, as his eyes flitted down to the hand splayed over her stomach and back to Regina's face, a small smile stretched over his lips, and love shining in his eyes, "As do I."

David looked out to the courtyard; everything was clear.

"The Round Table should be in the south keep of the castle. After Arthur knighted me, he made sure I remembered different passageways of how to get there. Follow me."

Their footsteps faded into the air like whispers as they began to walk towards the south keep of the colossal stone castle.


	12. Chapter 12

It seemed like it had been hours until they had arrived near the room furnished with the infamous "round table" of Camelot.

Hook, David, Robin and Regina were now standing outside the room, backs against the cold stone of the outside corridor.

"We need a plan. I'm not going in there without a plan," Robin whispered to the group.

"Well Arthur doesn't have magic so we should be fine, correct? If we see him, Regina can just freeze him in place, then we can find and take the sword," Killian supplied.

"It can't be _that_ easy. There's guards on the clock every hour," David added.

"Yeah. They're doing a _great_ job, David," Regina retorted motioning to the space around them.

Charming rolled his light blue eyes, "We need a _real_ plan. What do we do first? We don't know who's in there, let alone what we're up against."

"Ambush," Robin supplied, "It's worked for my men even in magical circumstances. Have our weapons at the ready and carefully and cautiously work towards the goal," Robin turned to his soulmate," you have your magic, can you freeze anyone that comes near us?" Robin asked, a certain gleam of question in his eyes.

Regina nodded in earnest, "Yes, of course"

"Okay," Robin drew his bow, his hands at the ready if anyone were to come for his friends or his fiancé and their child. He wouldn't let anyone even think about hurting her or their child before they had one of his arrows through their chests.

Robin quickly turned to Regina whispering, "If something is wrong with you or the baby, you tell me the minute you feel even a bit uncomfortable, do you understand?"

A beat of silence.

"Regina I know how stubborn you are, do you understand?" Robin threw Regina a lighthearted look of warning.

A quick intake of breath sounded from the brunette as she shut her eyes tight and opened them quickly; her eyes shining with a thin film of tears.

"Yes," she answered, quickly blinking her tears away.

Robin looked into her watery whiskey brown eyes with concern.

"Regina," Robin's eyes flitted to her abdomen in concern, "Is something wrong?"

"No. No, nothing's wrong. Just..some old memories and thoughts just came to mind. I'm fine," she quickly took her hand off of her abdomen to clench her hand in a fist at her side.

Her brows furrowed in earnest.

"Let's go get that sword"

Robin nodded, "Let's."

Robin turned towards the doorframe, his bow drawn, Regina had her hand at her side forming a fireball, and Hook and Charming had unsheathed their swords quietly, as they were all now facing the wooden door, weapons at the ready.

They advanced cautiously.

The minute they set foot in the room, Robin checked every crevice for danger, his bow and arrows as his weapon, keen eyes sweeping the expanse of the chamber.

Charming was behind Regina, sword in his hands, holding back the rear looking for intruders; anyone that might want to cause harm to their group and ultimately Regina.

It was then that they heard the loud and obnoxious chatter of King Arthur himself. Robin, quickly changed his stance so he was facing the insufferable King, as Killian and David quickly and quietly went in search for the sword.

If Robin were to let his arrow fly, it would bury itself in the King's neck. Unfortunately, the king had armor over his chest so aiming for his heart wasn't anything of an option.

However, one puncture to the jugular and the unbeloved King would bleed out.

Robin smirked.

"Foul witch, you've overpowered the guards!"

"Your guards are incompetent and weren't even standing at their posts. Bad form, mate," Killian retorted, as he advanced towards the monarch slowly.

Arthur unsheathed his sword and ran for Regina.

In a matter of seconds an arrow was flying through the air, colliding with the King's sword, causing it to drop to the ground, with a loud clatter.

It was then that a purple aura of light surrounded the monarch's body; Regina had frozen him to the spot in which he was standing.

Robin strolled towards Arthur, a look of disdain plastered on his face.

Robin laughed in despisement, "Do you _want_ to die, Arthur?"

As quick as lightning, Robin reached for another arrow, nocked it, and drew his bow, aiming at Arthur's neck, only inches away from skin.

Arthur's eyes lit with a fiery anger.

"I'm fairly certain you do. Because if you had _any_ common sense, you wouldn't attempt to murder Regina in front of my face. No, you wouldn't do that. _Ever_."

"Where's the sword?" Regina asked, fire creeping underneath her tone as she removed the spell from the King's neck up so he had the ability to speak.

"And why would I tell the likes of you?" Arthur threw Regina a look of distaste.

Regina formed a fireball in her hand, "Because if you don't, I only have one choice. To kill you," the brunette smiled; fire in her eyes, and an evil smirk pulling at her lips.

It was then that David - behind Arthur - locked eyes with Regina - blue on brown - moving his eyes to a curtain behind him.

Regina's eyes followed David's to the velvet curtain in confusion.

David seeing the confusion in the brunette's eyes mouthed the word: _Excalibur._

Regina extinguished her fireball and nodded to David in acknowledgement.

Killian seeing this eye contact, quickly reacted walking over to David swiftly from the other side of the room, "Mate, don't touch it, it could have protection charms."

Arthur chuckled dryly, his eyes depicting the expression of disdain, "Oh so you've found it. I knew you heroes weren't _that_ incompetent."

Regina let the freezing spell cover Arthur's entire body from head to toe; she was done with his taunting and aggravating remarks.

"Quit worrying. Nothing in this room can hurt us, Arthur doesn't have mag-"

She was quickly cut off by the last voice she wanted to hear.

"Hi guys!"

 _Zelena._

Robin looked to the voice's owner his eyes carrying a look of intermixed anger, and shock.

Regina's eyes enlarged as she saw who her sister was dragging in tow.

 _Mary Margaret._

She was gagged; a piece of cloth tied around her neck going over her mouth muffling her speech, and rope tying her wrists together.

"Oh _hell_ no," Regina muttered from her spot at the head of the Round Table near the entrance door.

"Mary Margaret!" David yelled, "If you hurt her!" he threatened Zelena, as he unsheathed his sword.

"David, stop," Regina held him back from charging at the witch with a hand at his upper arm and a hand at his chest. But Charming was fighting against her contact.

"Yes. Listen to my sister, _Charming_. You don't want to find out what will happen if you continue"

As Robin saw Regina attempting to hold David back, he immediately, put his arrow back into it's quiver, and his bow in his hand, as he walked towards the two.

He threw Regina a look saying: _I know you can do this, by not in your condition will I let you_ , before he traded places with Regina, now two hands on both of David's upper arms holding him back. The labored breaths of the prince could be heard as he was trying to pull out of his friend's grasp.

Zelena's crystal blue flitted to Charming's, depicting a look of pure wickedness before she spoke again.

"Ooh someone's angry," Zelena _tsk_ ed.

Zelena threw the fair princess into one of the empty seats of the Round Table. A low grunt voicing from Mary Margaret as the witch did so.

Zelena then looked to the monarch in the middle of the room; frozen and mute, "Let's undo this."

A wave of Zelena's hand and the purple aura disappeared around Arthur as he was unfrozen. The king rolled his shoulders and flexed his arms at his sides, "Ah. Much better."

Regina's eyes widened in shock, "How..How did?-"

"How did I just do that?"

Zelena smiled and laughed a laugh filled with pure triumph as she showed Regina her uncuffed wrist, eyes glowing with satisfactory.

"Well, Arthur here was kind enough to remove that constricting piece of jewelry, and now? Now I'm granting you the same courtesy."

A beat of silence before Zelena's statement sunk under the brunette's skin as she realized what her sister had meant.

Robin moved to react but he was too late.

A bright green light shined in Regina's eyes before she felt the tightness of the leather cuff constrict her wrist, the magic running beneath her skin; rushing through her veins, had stopped. Her body immobilized as Zelena froze her to the spot in which she was standing.

Regina let out a guttural scream of frustration as she clenched her fists at her sides.

"Regina!" Robin screamed. His eyes flitted to Zelena's, "What have you done!"

Zelena smiled her wicked smile.

"Nothing _too_ bad," Zelena walked towards her sister, "But now you're defenseless."

"You know if you treated her fairly, maybe she wouldn't turn on you," Arthur voiced to Regina from next to Zelena - he had walked next to her the minute he had become free from Regina's spell.

Before Regina could speak, Killian was already at it.

"Yes. Yes she would," Killian retorted, "You don't know what she's capable of, what she's done to us. So I'd advise you to _shut it_ before I come over there and show you what I can do with _this_ ," Killian raised his hook towards the monarch, a smile of disdain plastered on his face, his blue eyes darkening, "I don't think you want to find to find out."

Zelena walked closer towards the Round Table, "See but if I did that, Pirate, it would be less enjoyable, and I don't want that," the witch waved her hands in the air. All of the heroes were now frozen to their spots, no ability to move.

Zelena set her hands on the book that took its place on the large wooden table before rubbing her hands together in contentment.

"Oh here we are, one of Merlin's spell books."

"Is it the correct spell?" Arthur asked from beside Zelena.

"Oh, yes. It's quite an ingenious recipe for a tethering potion"

"Excellent"

After looking over the information in the book, Zelena waved her hand over the broken sword, a green aura quickly covering it, then disappearing.

Zelena faced Arthur then, "There. Now you _may_ have a shorter sword than you would like, however it is still able to control the world's greatest wizard."

Zelena looked to the group of heroes, then.

"This was his plan, but I took a liking to it. Anything to get that bloody cuff off of my wrist. Happy to help."

"Much obliged, milady," Arthur replied picking up the sword weighing it in his hands before he thrust it up in the air.

"Arthur, please. Listen to me. There's a way out you just can't see it. There's always a way out. You can start over," Charming told the monarch.

"Merlin!" Arthur screamed.

"You can be redeemed, you can _be better_ , Arthur! You think Guinevere will forgive you for this?" David yelled, matching Arthur's tone.

"Merlin!" Arthur screamed again, the broken sword thrust up into the air.

"Arthur we've all started over," David motioned to the heroes around him, "We have all been bad, but we found our good selves along the way. We've all made bad choices but we've made up for them, we're _making up for them_."

"Merlin!" Arthur screamed once more.

"Emma is worth more to you as the Savior than as the Dark One, Arthur. With Excalibur, we can get rid of the darkness for good," Regina added with a fire beneath her tone as she stood immobilized now glancing at Zelena warily.

"Villains have been turned into _heroes_ , mate. If you go through with this, you'll never have the privilege," Robin supplied.

It was then that a large cloud of grey smoke appeared beside the monarch, and quickly dissipated to reveal Merlin - confusion and alarm playing across his features.

Merlin glanced first at the heroes and quickly turned to face Arthur.

"Arthur let them go. They have done nothing wrong!"

"Ah, Merlin. So good of you to come when called," Arthur smiled, "And on the contrary. They brought _The Dark One_ into my kingdom, and have threatened the lives of my people. They've broken my kingdom."

A beat of silence.

"For your first task, would you use your magic to keep these imbeciles from attacking me or threatening my plans in any way?"

Merlin not able to will himself of the control of Excalibur, waved his hand over the group

They quickly disappeared.

Robin's bow and quiver, and both Killian and David's swords clattered to the ground with a _crash!_

The first things Regina registered were warmth and the weight of something binding her wrists. Something of a hard texture was digging into the her inner forearm and her back.

Regina winced slightly as the bark from a tree nicked her shoulder blade.

 _Goddamn backless dresses_ , Regina thought to herself as a growl of frustration left her lips.

Her eyes shot open as grey smoke dissipated around her.

Her eyes first registered the green and brown hues surrounding her.

She was in the forest.

Her eyes quickly flitted to the left to the right and to the left again.

Around her, Snow, David, and Hook were chained to trees, like herself, attempting to pull free of the chains.

She could feel the leather of the cuff on her wrist, containing her magic.

She was defenseless.

She attempted to wriggle out of the chains, a low grunt and a quick intake of breath as the chain dug into her wrists sharply sounding from her mouth.

She heard her name sound in a concerned yell behind her, "Regina!"

 _Robin_.

"Robin!"

"Regina, are you okay?" she could hear the concern and worry in his voice.

Regina let a _yes_ escape her lips in a slow exhale, as the fatigue from wearing velvet in the hot sun finally caught up with her, as she was still tugging at the chains.

"Regina stop. I can see you're tired. Don't over exert yourself," she heard from Snow a few feet away from her, also chained to a tree.

Regina slowly came to a stop, her hands stilling.

"Well what do we do now?" Regina asked, with a huff.

"We have to find a way to get out of these chains," Hook replied from Regina's side.

He was also chained to a tree about six feet away from her left side.

Regina rolled her eyes, "Well _obviously_ , Pirate. You think I'd be standing here chained to a tree if I actually _had_ my magic back?"

"I'm sorry _your Majesty_ , but this is our only option," Killian looked to the chains around Regina's wrist- her hands were shaking.

"Regina. You're hands are shaking. Why?"

Regina payed no attention to Killian.

"Regina? You can't be _that_ stubborn. If something's wrong you tell us," Snow added sternly.

"I'm just," Regina let out a slow exhale, "nauseous, and the baby's magic isn't impotent, so when I feel sick, she'll try to heal me which," Regina's brows furrowed in discomfort, "which then causes me to feel like I'm about to faint. Which is exactly what I'm feeling now."

Regina closed her eyes and continued breathing slowly.

Robin looked to the sun beating down on them, and to Regina's _velvet_ dress.

Robin's eyes widened.

"We have to get that dress off of you before you overheat," Robin struggled with the chains, pulling at the them with his wrists in their tight grip.

Robin let out a scream of frustration as the chains didn't budge.

Regina, fatigue practically sucking the life out of her, let her lips slightly pull back in a smile, "You're going to take this dress off of me in the forest?"

"If the situation calls for it, yes"

"Mate, it's no use. We can't get out of these chains," Hook replied cutting off the someone flirtation going on between the Queen and the Thief, trying to wriggle out of the chains as well.

It was then that Arthur and Merlin appeared in front of them, a puff of grey smoke now dissipating into thin air, as they appeared.

"Hello, everyone. Nice to see you could join us," Arthur bellowed from deep in the forest as he walked towards the group of heroes.

Robin looked to Arthur flames igniting behind his eyes, "Where's Zelena?"

"She had her own matters to attend to," Arthur replied.

"What does _that_ mean?" Regina added.

"You think I give a damn about what you're _sister_ is doing, Witch? The lot of you have betrayed me- my trust, my _kingdom_ , and you are going to suffer the consequences."

It was then that they heard the crackling of leaves and footsteps.

Someone was headed towards them.

It was when Regina caught a glimpse of a white cloak and blonde hair that she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

 _Emma_.

"I have the dagger and the flame now give me my family."

Regina could hear the earnest undertone of her friend's voice as things began to spin in her head.

She winced, shut her eyes tightly, and furrowed her brows as a dull pain pounded in her head.

She felt like she was going to pass out right there, and the velvet of her dress wasn't helping.

She could feel sweat pouring down her back, making her clothes stick to her skin like leather.

"No. You will hand over the flame and the dagger, or I unleash Merlin," Regina could her the monarch say in his agitating accent.

Although he possessed the same accent as Robin, Arthur's accent was more dark and cold whereas Robin's was warm and comforting.

It was then that Merlin spoke up.

"Emma. Please I don't want to fight you"

Arthur stepped closer to Emma, Excalibur in hand, "Oh but I do. You, _Dark One_ , have despised and tortured my kingdom enough with your treachery, and I think it would be great to grant you the same courtesy."

A beat of silence.

"So tell us Dark One, who shall I execute first? Your Mother or the Queen?"

"You can have the flame," Emma told Arthur, handing the gold box over to the monarch.

Arthur took the box in a gloved hand, Excalibur in the other.

"And the dagger?"

"Well you're not getting the dagger unless you give me my family back," Emma retorted.

"Merlin!" Arthur screamed, thrusting the sword in the air.

"Emma please. This is a battle you cannot win," Merlin looked to the blonde.

Emma threw on a mask of determination as she lifted her hands towards Merlin.

White and blue rays of magic met in a blast as The Dark One and The Sorcerer battled.

Emma held her own as the Sorcerer blasted her with his magic. If he threw a blast at her she would block it and come at him stronger.

Regina smiled proudly, thinking of almost a year ago when she had first begun to teach Emma magic.

She was reminded of the time in the forest when she had thought Emma had died as the pieces of the bridge collapsed from underneath the blonde.

She remembered the feeling of her heart dropping to her stomach in that moment.

She remembered the feeling of dread.

Regina looked to Merlin once more. Anyone could tell that he was stronger than her. Regina's just prayed that Emma was strong enough to do this.

To defeat Merlin.

"I wish you could defeat me, Emma. But I've played this game for far too long," Merlin spoke to the younger blonde.

Emma flew onto the autumn leaves scattering themselves around the forest as she let out a groan of pain.

Regina let out a silent but slow exhale of relief as she saw Emma's chest rising and falling.

She was breathing.

It was then that Arthur looked to the blonde, a certain fire glowing beneath his eyes as he spoke to Merlin.

"Merlin. By the sword I command you to take away The Dark One's magic."

A beat of silence, and a _whoosh_.

"And kill the Queen"

Regina gasped, her eyes going wide.

"Regina! NO!" Robin let out a guttural scream as he tried with all his might to get out of the chains tying him to the tree trunk. He saw the vine slither down the tree trunk and down to Regina's neck and his eyes widened in fear, his heart dropping down in his stomach.

 _No. No. No. Not Regina. Not their child. No. No. No._

Everyone tried to pull themselves out of the chains, grunts coming from both David and Killian as they tried with all the strength they had to break free of the chains.

Mary Margaret felt her eyes go wide upon hearing Arthur's words. Regina looked to her friend with a pleading expression; her eyes red with the irritation of tears as she attempted to rip free of the chains.

 _Help me._

It was then that the vine wrapped tighter around Regina's neck cutting off her oxygen, Regina gasped, her face getting more red by the minute.

"They won't budge!" Killian yelled to David who was almost five feet away from him.

"Keep trying!" Mary Margaret screamed.

"Merlin!" Robin screamed to the Sorcerer, "Regina's with child! _My child! Please_ don't do this! Fight the darkness, Merlin! Please!"

Regina's eyes bulged as she felt the vine cutting of her airway. She looked upwards, a few tears escaping her eyes as she looked to the sky- looked to the sun.

Maybe if she stared long enough, this would all be over quickly. She had no magic. She was defenseless.

Her and her child were both going to die.

Regina choked on a sob, as she shut her eyes rimmed with red, her eyebrows furrowing.

Emma spoke up then, screaming to the Sorcerer from the forest floor, "Merlin, you are the greatest sorcerer that has ever lived. If you can't fight off the darkness, no one can!"

Merlin's breaths became labored as he willed his hand to move from in front Regina, with a pained scream and a gasp.

Regina let out quick labored breaths, as the vine somewhat loosened around her neck, her face now returning to it's original tan color.

"St-top," the only word Regina could evoke at the moment. It came out as a exhaled whisper, hoarse and not as forced and earnest as usual.

"Merlin! By the sword I command you! Kill her!" Arthur screamed as he thrust the broken sword towards the Sorcerer even more than before.

"Emma, I can't hold him off much longer," Merlin spoke to the blonde. As he stared at the brunette chained to the tree, willing himself to not let the darkness overtake him.

It was then that Regina saw a glimpse of a silver hook before she could breathe again.

Regina coughed and sputtered taking in large gulps of air, before she felt the chains loosen around her wrists. She fell onto the ground her hands catching her fall, fatigue overtaking her as a veil of brown hair fell in front of her face.

"Not today mate," she heard the Pirate's voice, along with a pained groan from Arthur, "I know someone else who needs that."

Killian grabbed Excalibur in his hand, as Emma used her magic to poof Arthur from the forest.

Regina put a steady hand to her abdomen hoping and praying that her daughter was still alive. The moment she sensed the faint pulse of light magic that was her daughter, underneath her fingertips, Regina sobbed in relief, kneeling on the autumn leaves.

"Regina!" She heard Robin scream in worry and concern. Regina looked up quickly to see the group in front of her.

They were now unchained from the trees - everyone except Robin was walking towards Regina.

Robin was running.

 _Sprinting_.

He kneeled in front of her quickly, rubbing a warm and calloused thumb over her cheekbone.

"Oh god, are you okay?" Robin put a strong and steady hand to Regina's lower abdomen as he looked to Regina's face, "Is _she_ okay?"

Regina nodded profusely but still couldn't seem to breathe.

Robin kneeled beside her, one hand on her lower back rubbing soothing circles, the other in Regina's tight, vice-like grip of which met at her abdomen.

He could tell she was trying to anchor herself to reality. That she couldn't seem to regain her stability in that moment.

He could see it in her eyes. In those dark brown eyes, now filled with fear, anxiety, and _pain_.

Little did Robin know, muddled painful thoughts and memories of Regina's past were running through her head.

Memories of abusive mothers, and kings that didn't listen to cries and pleas of "Stop!" who gripped a certain young eighteen year old girl at the forearms, as he pushed her towards a large bed.

Memories of the banishing of an innocent child through a magical wardrobe, dark curses, and murder, and evil -

Robin turned her chin gently, so she was facing him.

Regina couldn't seem to completely gain focus, at the moment. Her eyes might've been latching onto Robin's face, but only still did painful glimpses of memories make themselves known in her mind.

"Regina look at me"

Robin's warm accent severed the tie that brought those dark thoughts about and she could now _finally_ see the blue of Robin's eyes, the love that shined through them.

Regina gasped looking around at the forest then as she was brought back to reality.

"Robin"

Her voice was but a hoarse whisper, a stray tear falling down her cheek; the white of her eyes a mild shade of pink from irritation of tears.

"Robin," Regina choked on a sob.

Robin wiped away the stray tear, bringing a calloused hand to skim Regina's cheek.

"We're here now, and this is true. Everything is fine. You are fine. _Our daughter_ is fine. _Our daughter is alive_ , Regina. Everything's okay."

Regina repeated the reassuring words as Robin held her close, her forehead on Robin's shoulder as she stared into the nothingness that was the forest floor.

" _Everything's okay."_

It was then, minutes later that Regina had finally stood, with the help of Robin; the fatigue still messing with her head.

"Regina," she heard her name come from both Snow and Emma in unison as they walked to their friend as soon as they saw her stand.

She looked up slowly wiping at the tears at her eyes.

Emma was walking towards her- with Killian about a foot behind her as he was walking with David. Mary Margaret was a few feet next to Emma, walking towards the brunette worry and concern clouding her eyes.

Mary Margaret set a gentle hand on Regina's shoulder, "Regina, are you and the baby okay?"

A second later and a pair of red rimmed eyes looked to a pair gentle concerned green ones, "Yes," Regina breathed out in a slow exhale, "Yes I'm fine. Me and the baby are both fine," Regina let a small watery smile slip through her features.

Regina then looked away from Mary Margaret searching for the one person she had to thank for that the most.

Regina's eyes fell on his black leather and silver of his hook before they flitted to the sky blue of his eyes.

"Thanks to Killian," Regina let a small smile escaped her usual annoyed facade she would wear when addressing the one-handed Pirate.

Killian let his lips curve into a small smile.

""Killian" now, huh? Where's 'Captain Guyliner' and-"

Before Killian even had the chance to speak Regina was hugging him. Killian stepped back a bit in surprise, but then let his hand steady at Regina's upper back, angling and eyebrow upwards at Robin as Robin let his lips curve into a smile upon looking at how far both Regina and Killian had come.

Regina pulled back slowly after a few seconds her eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

" _Thank you_ , Killian, for saving my life," Regina then, absentmindedly, put a gentle hand to her lower abdomen, "and my daughter's life."

Killian nodded at Regina his stark blue eyes giving off a look that said _of course, my pleasure_ , accompanied with a small shy smirk.

It was hours afterward that everyone had finally made it back to Granny's' Diner. Emma walked in step with Merlin, Mary Margaret next to David, Robin next to Killian, thanking him for saving his fiancé and child's lives with a quick clap on the shoulder and a grateful smile as he held Regina's hand in his as they walked - the sound of lifeless autumn leaves crunching underfoot sounding throughout the afternoon air.

"Emma, where exactly did you transport Arthur?" Merlin asked the blonde as they walked side by side.

"Somewhere that could buy us some time to reforge Excalibur. Miles away from here, don't worry."

It was then that the lit up sign reading 'Granny's Diner' came into view.

"But you don't have the flame. You gave it to Arthur," Merlin replied.

"That was a fake. He's going to be in for a surprise when he opens that box," Emma chuckled softly.

"You enchanted it," Merlin guessed.

"Indeed," Emma answered nodding

"Smart," Merlin muttered to himself.

Emma had already walked farther towards the lonesome building in the middle of the forest, hand in hand with Killian.

The familiar ring of the bell atop the entrance to Granny's Diner registered in Regina's ears as they all entered.

Robin put a hand to Regina's lower back guiding her towards the first booth on the left with a quick kiss to her temple and an offer to go fetch her some tea to relax her throat and calm down her nerves. Regina nodded slightly, still in a slight state of shock from the incident hours earlier. Robin, pressing a kiss to Regina's lips left her without another word.

It was when Robin was walking towards the bar that Mary Margaret came up to him setting a gentle hand on Robin's, a look of sympathy in her olive colored eyes, "I'll stay with her."

Robin couldn't help but this that it was more than Mary Margaret wanting to keep her friend company, it was as if Mary Margaret needed to have a _real_ talk with her oldest friend.

He left Regina to talk with Snow with a solemn nod towards the booth in which Regina was sitting.

"Papa!" He heard Roland's high pitched voice scream in delight from across the diner.

Robin's head turned to see Roland running over towards him, a large mug of hot cocoa in his hands.

"Let me take that for you, Roland. We don't want you spilling it now do we?" Henry came walking forwards towards the young boy taking the mug out of his two small hands gently.

Roland gladly handed the mug over to Henry as he came barreling towards his father, arms stretched wide.

"Papa!"

Robin after giving Henry a look of thanks quickly grabbed his son at the sides as his son jumped into his waiting arms.

"What have you and Henry been doing today?"

"We played Archer and Thief, then we got some hot cocoa with cin-cin," the young boy looked to Henry in question.

"Cinnamon," Henry smiled, finishing the younger boy's sentence.

"Yeah, cinnamon!" The young boy exclaimed, excitedly, his eyes giving off a certain brightness.

"Was it good, my boy?"

The young boy nodded profusely, a large smile curving his lips.

"How about you two go say hello to Regina, I'm sure she wants to see the two of you," Robin looked to Henry, "I'm going to go fetch your mother some well needed tea. I will be right back," Robin put a strong hand to Henry's shoulder as he walked towards the bar of the diner.

Robin couldn't help but feel this sudden sense of anxiety claw at his insides. Like something was doomed to end terribly. He looked to Regina then. She was smiling, Roland sitting next to her in the booth. Mary Margaret sat across from Regina, her eyes bright for the sake of the young boy before her.

Robin made a mental note to take the young boy elsewhere as soon as he got the tea for Regina, he could tell that Mary Margaret really wanted to speak Regina.

"What can I get for you, Robin?" Granny looked over her glasses, into the blue eyes of the archer before her.

She could sense the hint of anxiety in his eyes, she observed the way his pulse got faster by the second. She presumed it was the wolf senses at it again.

Always detecting _everything_.

"You okay?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm just fine, Granny. I'm sorry I was just thinking about something for a moment; daydreaming I guess," Robin chuckled softly.

"Just wanted some tea for Regina," Robin smiled politely at the gray-haired woman before him.

"She seems to be ordering that a lot. Her usual is coffee," Granny stated. a look of worry and confusion on her face.

Robin looked to Granny then, eyes squinting in suspicion which then turned to acknowledgment.

"You know," a statement more than a question coming from the archer.

"I've known for weeks. When did she find out?"

"Just today. Do you know how far along she is?" Robin asked, Granny, his eyebrows shooting up in question.

"Just today?" Granny asked surprise dripping from her tone, "I figured she'd know by now, she's already three weeks into her pregnancy. Especially with the magic your baby seems to have.."

"How do you know of her magic?"

"This seems like a conversation to be had in the back," Granny waved Robin over. Robin followed.

As soon as they both occupied the secluded area that was the storage closet, Granny began to speak.

"It's my wolf senses. Although I don't turn anymore, they seemed to stick with me. I can sense emotions and for some reason, I guess pregnant woman. I think it just depends on the magic."

"Please don't speak of this to anyone, I don't need Zelena finding out. God knows what she would do."

"Of course," Granny replied. "Now, that tea," Granny voiced the words in a quick exhale as she walked from the supply closet to the behind the diner's bar.

Robin followed The older woman once more.

Robin's eyes trailed around the room as Granny went to work.

Killian and Emma were next to David, Roland and Henry were sitting next to one another; Roland giggling about something Henry had just said. Robin smiled.

His smile dropped slightly as he couldn't help but feel like something was.. _off_. Robin's eyes trailed around the diner once more to find that Mary Margaret and Regina were nowhere to be found. A quick feeling of dread sunk deep beneath Robin's skin until his eyes caught onto the dark hair of both Regina and Mary Margaret at the front of the Diner. They were outside; into a deep heart-to-heart conversation, Robin presumed as he saw a slight smile appear on Regina's face, and a single tear fall down her cheek, of which Regina quickly wiped away with the slight wipe of the back of her hand along said cheek.

Robin quickly noticed, that oddly enough, both Belle and Merlin were nowhere to be found.

It was then that Robin heard the quick _clink_ of dish atop dish, breaking him out of his thoughts. Robin looked to the noise.

It was Regina's tea - Granny had just set it atop the diner's bar top.

"Thank you," Robin gave a grateful nod towards the older woman before he grabbed the dish, and the teacup's warm side with his free hand.

It was only just seconds later, as he was walking towards the diner's entrance, that Robin heard the familiar accented voice of Belle at the back of the diner.

"You're safe here"

Robin turned towards the warm voice of one of his oldest friends to see Merlin, Belle, and a person in a tattered brown cloak that made it to the person's calves before rips and holes could be seen towards the bottom.

 _A cloak that looked all too familiar_.

The figure turned.

Although the cloak shielded the person's face entirely, Robin could definitely tell that she was a young woman; maybe Regina's height. The only feature Robin could see of the young woman were the light brown curls that trailed down her shoulders.

Belle put a gentle hand to the young woman's shoulder, nodding to the empty booth to her right, a kindness taking over her features. The book lover led the young woman towards the booth, sitting across from her smiling as she began a conversation with the young woman.

"You can take off your cloak if you'd like," Belle supplied whispering, "You're safe here," Belle threw the woman another kind smile.

Two slender and graceful hands met at the sides of the young woman's hood, as she pulled the hood down so that it was now touching her shoulder blades.

All Robin could see now was the woman's light brown curls and the line of her jaw as her head moved only inches to the right.

Robin couldn't help but walk a few inches forward, as if a certain force was pulling him forward by a thin string. Regina's tea cup and saucer shaking slightly in his calloused hands.

It was then that Belle pointed to the menu above the bar top, showing the young woman the food and beverage options Robin presumed.

"The iced tea is delicious," Belle told the young woman sitting opposite of her.

The young woman's head tilted her head in confusion, "Isn't tea supposed to be _cold_?" she asked. Robin's head instantly inclined upwards looking towards the young woman who had just spoken, her voice seeming all too familiar… just deeper, more mature.

"Where I come from there a various different flavors of tea, iced, warm, it's all very confusing, but I'm sure you'll get used to it," Belle told the young woman.

The young woman then looked to the menu above the diner's bar top, her head turning to the right, Robin could now get a good look at her face.

The imaginary string pulling Robin forward broke as his eyes scanned the young woman's face.

Her facial features. They seemed… too familiar.

The blue of her eyes, the way her smile caused dimples to appear on the sides of her cheeks, the way her eyes lit up at the prospect of something new and different, much like his did, but they seemed less matured… younger.

Robin's mind brought him back to the cloak the young woman was wearing just minutes earlier - the cloak that was now thrown over the booth, tattered, dirty, small - it was obviously not her correct size, as if she had had the thing in her possession for more than a decade.

Robin froze as he felt the earth shift underneath him. He felt his fingers loosen around the teacup that held Regina's tea collide with the floor of the diner, the teacup shattering into numerous pieces on the floor below.

No, it couldn't be.

She was dead, he was sure of it, Robin reassured himself, claiming to himself that he was seeing things.

But her face told him otherwise.

The familiar icy blueness of her eyes, the dimples on her cheeks, her smile.

Robin remembered that smile - his mind bringing him back to the days more than a decade earlier. He remembered playing hide and seek behind trees, as he had read her bedtime stories before she would fall asleep, under her older brother's watchful and protective eye.

He remembered the way she laughed, the way she hugged, the way she said _I love you_ , in her high pitched, small, six year old voice.

This was Rae Locksley.

This was his sister.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Mentions of domestic abuse, alcoholism, rape, and death. I do not own any of these characters, except for the character of 'Rae Locksley.'**

 _Rae Locksley had been conceived through an affair, a one-night stand with one of the soldiers fighting in the Ogre Wars after a visit to the town's tavern; too drunk to let the thought of a contraceptive cross their minds. Ultimately, Rae's conception was the reason Robin's father began to drink. The fire-like feeling of alcohol acted as the only way to cope with the situation. He wasn't so keen with the idea of fathering another child, and another man's child at that; had always been reluctant of the fact._

 _So much so, that growing up, Robin's father had always been barbaric and harsh towards Rae. As a newborn, if she began to cry, he would ignore her, leaving her in her cot to cry for hours, leaving a preteen Robin to feed her with the small amount of milk they could afford with the paltry sum of money their family obtained; their family-owned tavern acting as their only source of income._

 _Since the day Rae had been born, Robin, at the young age of thirteen, had felt this weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He felt the sudden need to protect and nurture the moment those tiny blue eyes had opened to meet his- bright and filled with love._

 _It wasn't until hours after his sister's birth that Eden Locksley, Robin's mother, had told Robin of his sister's namesake. It was her eyes, his mother told him. The way they followed an object around the room with a certain grace and elegance. The way their bright blue coloration never ceased to illuminate someone with a small spark of hope._

 _This led to her middle name._

 _Grace; for Robin, it was a nickname of sorts._

 _The fact that that was exactly what Rae's name had meant, had made it all the better fitting._

 _Since the day she had been born, Robin mentally vowed that he would protect his sister as long as he drew breath. He vowed that he would make certain that she would never turn dark, would never veer astray of the path of truthfulness, righteousness, honesty, and benevolence, and never stray into darkness. Because that is what his mother taught him as a young boy._

 _To believe in family._

 _To be truthful, righteous, and good. The three traits that made a benevolent leader, a man of goodness, and Robin believed in these traits with all his heart._

 _However his father did not possess any of these traits. His father was but a drunken man addicted to the fire-filled burning sensation that bottle after bottle of whiskey left in his throat. He was but a man who had no sense of love, no sense of family. A man who went against all of Robin's beliefs in the goodness of others. He was a man who performed acts that were hate-filled beyond words; spewing profanities towards his children and domestically abusing his wife._

 _Arlan Locksley was the epitome of malevolence, and Robin was disgusted, he was fed up with his father's unjust acts of hatred, always had been, always would be._

 _Which is where they were now._

 _Robin, now at the matured age of nineteen, laid in his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling of his bedroom, listening to the bickered yelling of his parents from across the hall. They had been in the kitchen all night arguing; Robin could tell his father had had a few drinks, as he heard the slur of his father's speech, and the constant slosh of the bottle of whiskey in his father's hand as he threw back gulp after gulp._

" _The tavern is long gone, Arlan. We're behind on rent, there are no more customers save the soldiers that come from battle, lonely and deprived of drink, you know that."_

" _Oh," Robin can hear the disgust in his father's voice as he chuckles dryly, setting the whiskey bottle on wood with a_ clank _, "like the bloody soldier who knocked you up with the bastard child?"_

 _Robin could feel the muscles of his forearms and hands flex beneath his tunic in anger. Robin wanted to grab that bloody bottle and hit his father upside the head with it. If he heard one more negative word about Rae, he would surely charge out of his room at tackle his father to the floor where he stood._

" _You shut your bloody mouth you drunken bastard. That is my_ daughter _you are speaking about," his mother bit back, words like fire._

" _Who are you callin' a bastard!" Robin's father screamed, his voice raspy, slamming his hands atop the wooden table between him and his wife._

 _Robin heard his father's voice lower, as he whispered harshly to his mother._

" _The only_ bastard _in this family is that wench you call your blood! Your family! Well Edie, do I have news for you. That "_ girl" _is nothin' but a six-year old, money-suckin', brat. Whose only purpose in this family is to serve as the laughing stock of Nottingham, living with the shame of being your "daughter" if that's the so-called name for the thing!"_

 _A crash of a whiskey bottle smashing sounded throughout the house, and Robin couldn't take it anymore._

 _Storming out of his room, Robin, as quick as lightning, ran down the hall and into the kitchen, slamming his father into the wall behind him, hands buried in the collar of his shirt, his eyes bulging out of his skull in anger._

 _The sound of Robin's mother's cries could be heard somewhere far off in Robin's subconscious, however the only thing that his eyes were seeing were red._

 _He was seething mad._

" _Get. Out. Now," Robin ground out between his clenched teeth in anger, as he held his father to the wall tighter, his fists twisting around his father's collar even harder than before, his face inches away from his father's._

 _Arlan cleared his throat, swallowing thickly before he looked to Robin and began to speak, "Look, son, I'm sorry. Perhaps you can give me a second chance at this thing? I'll do better, I promise."_

 _Robin pulled back from his father, loosening his fingers from his collar, before he pulled back his clenched_ _fist, and slammed it into his father's cheek full force._

" _You." Another punch._

" _Never," Another punch._

" _Keep," Another punch._

" _Your," Another punch._

" _Promises."_

 _Robin could hear his mother's exclaiming cries from behind him at each punch he threw at his father. Arlan was now on the ground, blood flowing from his nose down onto his shirt, accompanied with labored breathing._

" _You get out of this house_ now _, of so help me God I will throw you out myself," Robin growled, fire coating his words as his tone dripped with enmity._

 _Robin's father's eyes widened._

 _Not from surprise or shock- this was the alcohol doing it's work in Robin's father's brain. His father's judgement had been effected first, soon it was going to be his motor skills._

 _But Robin didn't care._

 _Robin pulled his father to his feet by his collar, a look of disgust evident on his face, as he shoved his father out of their home and into the yard._

 _Robin didn't give a thought towards what his father would endure or run into after he threw him out of their house._

" _No man similar to the likes of_ you _deserve to hold the love of another, let alone obtain a family," Robin bit out in disgust as he slammed the front door in anger, turning around to face his mother._

" _I'm sorry you had to see that, Mother. I couldn't… I couldn't take it anymore," Robin walked to the water basin that sat on the kitchen table that sat against the far wall, and washed the blood off of his hands, staring out the window in front of him, into the dark night that surrounded him._

" _What he was saying about Grace - he had to leave. I couldn't stand there listening to what he was saying about her. What he_ has _been saying about her._ Six years, mother. _How could a man be_ that _insolent to a_ child _for_ six years _?" Robin whispered aloud, low but harsh, more to himself than anything._

" _He was a kind man before your sister was born, you know this, Robin. He just… he's a very closed-off man. Doesn't like being betrayed -who would? I mean I had an affair for god sakes."_

 _Robin turned to face his mother, "How can you be defending him! He would have hit you if I hadn't gotten out here when I did! Mother you were lonely then, when Rae was conceived, and that has only resulted in Grace!" Robin voice grew louder by each word._

" _Robin?" a small voice sounded from behind a bedroom door._

 _Robin's mother's blue eyes widened slightly. Robin quickly dried his hands on the dish rag that sat on the wooden table the water basin was sitting on, and approached his sister's room, catching the blue of his sister's eyes, and smiling; as her eyes always made him do._

" _Grace"_

 _Robin grabbed his sister's small hand, leading her back into her bedroom with the small pull ofit. He slowly put his hands under her arms and lifted her, her legs to straddling his torso, and her head now laying on his right shoulder._

" _Robin?" Rae stated, question dripping from her tone._

 _Robin_ hmmed _in question back as he laid her in her bed, covering her frail six-year old body with her bed sheet._

" _Tell me a story. It'll help me fall asleep."_

 _Robin looked to his sister in hesitance._

" _Please?" Rae asked, her blue eyes shining with hope._

 _Robin smoothed down Rae's waves of light brown hair whispering, "Okay. One story but then you go to sleep," Robin smiled warmly, looking at his sister, his young blue eyes filling with love._

 _Rae's lips pulled up to reveal a tired grin as Robin began his story._

" _Once there was a great knight who saved his entire forest… He fought his enemies with only a bow and a quiver of arrows… But this knight was_ different _from other knights. This knight stole from the wealthy to give to the the poor… He was noble, righteous, and good… He was a hero. Just as everyone should be…"_

 _Robin noticed Rae's closed eyes- eyelids covering the bright blue of her eyes- and neutral breathing._

 _She was asleep._

 _Robin's lips pulled up into a small smile, as he leant down to kiss her crown of light brown hair, whispering, "Goodnight, Gracie."_

 _Robin stood then, walking towards Rae's bedroom door with whispered footfalls. Robin noticed her cloak their mother had made her, hanging over her bedpost. Robin smiled as his eyes caught onto the flower pattern of the brown fabric, feeling it over with a palm._

 _Robin cringed slightly at the squeak of his sister's bedroom door as he closed it to leave. As soon as Robin was outside her room, he looked to the kitchen; his mother wasn't there sitting at the kitchen table._

Probably bathing _, Robin guessed._

 _Robin walked to his own room, laying back in bed, pulling the sheet back over his body, as he stared at the darkened ceiling once more. Robin supposed it was a good thing that he had sent his father away. His father was cruel, barbarous, and it was better if he was not involved in their lives any longer._

 _Robin vowed that he would find a way to pay their needed rent to keep their tavern, and he didn't care what price he had to pay to get it that way. If he had to take over the family business, so be it. His father was gone, and Robin supposed that that was the best for everyone._

 _Robin's father never came home, and Robin was glad._

The crash of porcelain on tile sounded throughout Granny's diner, as pieces of shattered teacup littered themselves across the tiled floor. Everyone looked to Robin, eyes wide in surprise, silent.

Even his sister.

She was now fully facing him, eyes wide in surprise, the loud noise shaking her up a bit. She had flinched; almost jumped out of the booth upon hearing the noise.

Robin was frozen; wide eyed, and in a state of shock.

Some unknown force of emotion gathered in Robin's core as he willed his feet forward, towards his sister, step by step.

 _Left. Right. Left. Right._

Rae looked to the man standing before her. His eyes were wide, face drained of color, as if he had just seen a ghost. He looked somewhat similar, save the lines that seemed to illustrate his features, brought on by age, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen him prior to this moment.

Until she heard his voice.

" _Grace_?"

Rae's eyes widened, tears unthinkingly pricking the corners of her eyes.

No. It couldn't be. It had been too long, it couldn't be him, after all this time…

But her mind fought against its own thoughts of denial.

This was in fact the very voice that spoke to her as a young girl almost every night of heroes, villains, princesses, and princes as she drifted off into a mindless slumber.

This was the voice of someone she once had come to know as an infant, but this voice was older; _deeper_. This was the same man that she could hear screaming in their kitchen, throwing punches at his father, and throwing him out of the house for her own sake.

This was her big brother.

" _Robin_?"

A watery smile graced her lips, as a mix of shock and adoration overcame her subconscious. It felt as if a weight was being pressed against her chest. Her throat was constricting tightly, tears thickly coating its rough inside. Her hand came up to her mouth, as unshed tears fell down her cheeks, her lips wobbling with the onset of tears.

Her mind registered the cold metal of the booth's table as her hand quickly swept across its smooth surface. The minute she climbed out of the booth to her feet, it felt as if the floor had shifted.

Surrealism clouded in her head, which in turn caused the steps of her booted feet across the diners floor, whispered footfalls against tile, until she was running towards him; choking back tears, and doing her best not break down in sobs.

She jumped into his protective and strong arms, her arms snaking behind his neck, her face buried in the crook of his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I heard you fled King Arthur's army. I'm glad you left," Rae said over her brother's shoulder. Her speech became muffled by the velvet of her brother's cloak, though Robin could hear the sad smile in her voice.

Robin went weak at the knees at this quick embrace, as he held his younger sister in his arms- granted she wasn't so little anymore- causing them both to slowly descend towards the tiled floor together.

Now on his knees, Robin's hands met at Rae's lower back, pulling her to him, hoping that this contact would help him realize what he sought to be true.

That this was his sister.

This was _his sister_ , and he couldn't be more relieved.

 _It was just a day later that Robin came upon a solution that he knew would ease all of his problems. It had again been another hot day in summer. The scent of pine and earth filled Robin, his eyes taking in the different shades of brown of the firewood he chopped in his front lawn since the early morning. His ears picked up the crack of the wood as it split apart with each swing of Robin's arms downwards with his ax. The sun gathered in its pool of fire and gold, as it beat down on Robin; sweat was now dripping down both sides of his face, down his arms and onto the dark earth below._

 _Robin's eyes flitted quickly to two villagers, both women, walking past Robin's cottage with their children, baskets in hand._ "Did you hear of the King of Camelot's call for men to aid him? It's been spreading around Sherwood like wildfire!"

 _Robin's sense of hearing shifted in on this conversation in particular, curious as to what the two villagers were speaking of. Camelot was a half a day's journey if taken by steed, at the most only sixty miles away from Sherwood Forest. It didn't surprise Robin that news from Camelot traveled this fast; and at the King's orders at that._

 _The other villager shook her head, causing the other woman to continue. "_ If what I've heard is correct, King Arthur is looking for men to enlist in his royal guard. Supposedly, if they do enlist, he'll grant the man and his loved ones with riches beyond comprehension. But there is a catch…once you enlist, you can never see your family again."

 _Robin's gaze shifted to the ground below as he half turned away from the two women, eyes half wide, the ax slowly descending towards the earth below._

 _That's exactly how he was going to pay for his mother's rent._

 _He was going to join King Arthur's royal guard, even if it meant never seeing his family again. Because that was the price he would pay in order to keep his family fed and content._

 _With one final swing of the ax into the wooden log in front him, Robin - wiping his hands on his pants - willed his feet to carry him to the porch of his house. With a dull_ thump _of the ax against the wooden platform, Robin's feet carried him through the doorway of his home, and into the kitchen._

 _His mother had been cooking broth, the heaven-scented aroma of roasted meat and vegetables wafting its way towards Robin; his mouth watered._

" _Have you chopped all of the firewood?" his mother voiced from her spot near the fireplace, using the fire to heat the contents of the broth._

" _Yes, mother," Robin voiced from the house's entrance, taking his boots off._

 _Robin's mother turned, her grey-blue eyes brightening as her eyes scanned over her one and only son with pride and love._

" _Thank you, Robin," his mother smiled before jutting her chin towards the washroom towards the end of the hall. "Now go wash up, and go get your sister - she's out back in the flower garden; supper's about ready."_

 _Robin nodded, starting for the washroom as his mother turned back to her broth, mixing the steaming contents._

 _Within minutes Robin's hands were washed and he was outside, the hues of the assortment of flowers placed in rows within the soil, gathering in his eyes._

 _Robin walked off of the back porch to find his sister playing in the tall grasses, a Chrysanthemum in one hand and a Hydrangea in the other, dancing, her light brown hair whipping in the afternoon wind._

 _It seemed she was humming to herself. As Robin stepped closer to his sister, he recognized the melody his sister was humming; it was lullabye their mother had sung to him as a child._

 _Robin smiled as he approached his sister, crouching next to a flower patch as he watch his sister dance._

 _It was when Rae noticed her brother that her eyes lit up even brighter than they seemed to be._

" _Robin!" The young six-year old ran for her brother, tackling him in a warm embrace, so they both fell to the ground, the tall shin-high grasses tickling behind Robin's neck and ears. Robin let out a deep throaty laugh as he sat up placing his sister on the ground next to him._

" _Grace, do you know what each of these flowers mean?" Robin nodded to the flowers fisted in his sister's small hands._

 _Rae turned, her blue eyes bright, a broad smile stretching her lips upward, deep dimples instantaneously appearing on both sides of her cheeks._

" _What do you mean, Robin? How can a flower_ mean _something?"_

" _Well," Robin picked a daisy from his right side, "certain flowers, when you look at them, have a certain..look. You just know what they seem to mean. For example," Robin raised the white flower in front of his face, "the daisy. What do you think the daisy means, Rae?"_

 _Rae looked down to the ground her brows knitting in concentration, her lip bit in consideration as she thought._

 _Rae's blue eyes flit to her brother's in hesitance. "Happiness?"_

 _Robin smiled, replying. "Precisely."_

 _A certain excitement shined in his sister's young eyes as she smiled, "What do my flowers mean?"_

 _Rae raised the bright yellow chrysanthemum in one hand, and the deep-colored purple hydrangea in the other._

" _Well… the yellow chrysanthemum means love, joy, and long life, and the purple hydrangea means gratefulness, or grace, like your name; that's what your name means."_

" _Grace? Is that why you call me Grace instead of Rae?" Her eyes shined at her brother in question._

" _Indeed," Robin smiled._

" _Now come on inside and wash up; it's almost time for dinner."_

 _Rae nodded before setting both flowers onto the grass next to her, her feet carrying her to the back porch in seconds, Robin's protective eyes watched her every step and movement, a certain sense of sadness washing over him. If he were to leave to enlist in Arthur's army, he would never see his little sister again._

 _Robin shook his head forcefully, willing the thought out of his mind as he continued to walk towards his house. He was doing this for his family, and he wouldn't let anything stop him._

 _Within minutes the three were sitting at the dinner table, spooning bits of steaming broth into their mouths one by one, talking of their day - what they had done, what they had planned to do the next day - when Robin decided to speak up._

" _I am going to enlist in King Arthur's army."_

 _A clatter of a spoon against a bowl, and a slight cough from his mother sounded before Robin continued._

" _If I enlist, Arthur will grant us with riches beyond comprehension. Mother with this money, you can continue paying rent, maybe close the tavern and open another shop if you'd like._ This will save us, Mother _." Robin gazed optimistically at his mother._

" _But if I do enlist… I can never see you or Rae again."_

" _Then don't. Don't enlist. We're better together than apart."_

" _Mother? What do you mean?" His sister voiced at his side, softly._

 _Robin's gaze fell upon his sister, sadness clouding in his eyes._

" _I'm going to join Arthur's army, and protect Camelot from bad people, Grace. And Arthur said that if I join him, he will give our family lots and lots of money. That way mother can tend to the garden I know you love so much, and can cook your favorite meals. But I have to leave home if I join Arthur's army, and can never see you or Mother ever again," Robin's lips pulled down, as unshed tears welled in his eyes._

 _To Robin's surprise, Rae smiled, a certain light shining in her eyes._

" _Well that's good, right Mother? Robin's going to protect people. He's going to save people. He'll be a hero, " Rae turned to look at her mother, then._

" _Mother?" Rae questioned once more._

" _I will not let you do such a thing, Robin Locksley," Eden scoot back in her chair, wood scraping against wood, as she head for her room. Robin could see the tears well in her ice blue eyes._

" _But Mother, it's my life! It will better this family! Why can't you see that!?" Robin shouted from his spot at the kitchen table._

 _Eden Locksley went to bed without a single word to her son, and her children followed. Robin put Rae to bed with a kiss to her forehead, as he always did, and after doing so, walked into his own room, layed on his bed, and stared at his ceiling for hours rubbing certain thoughts over in his mind, coming up with ways to persuade his mother to let him do this._

 _In a matter of hours, the sun was bathing Robin's room with bright yellow rays. Robin blinked, forcing the bright light out of his vision, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After getting dressed into a thin charcoal gray quarter-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and lacing up his brown leather boots, he made his way towards the kitchen to find his mother drinking out of a teacup that she was now placing on the saucer in front of her, the steam from the liquid wafting itself into the air._

" _I will admit, I was a bit harsh last night, and I'm sorry."_

You think? _Robin thought to himself, but shoved the questioning phrase to the back of his mind. He wasn't going to argue with his mother. Not now. Not today._

" _So when do you leave?"_

 _Robin could hear the underlying monotone tone in his mother's voice. A rhetorical question._

" _Mother-"_

" _Robin don't make this harder than it has to be," unshed tears welled in his mother's eyes then. "I cannot_ bear _the thought of losing you. I've now come to realize the effects of what you are doing, on us - our family, and I think it's good that you're doing this. So… when do you leave? As soon as possible, I would presume?"_

 _Robin nodded solemnly._

 _HIs mother stood, then, "I have Raven saddled for your journey, you just have to pack a bag. Your sister is out in the garden, I'm sure she wants to see you - to say goodbye."_

 _HIs mother then turned towards her tea once more, taking a sip out of the cup. Robin let his head hang low as he willed his booted feet to walk towards the back of the house - towards the gardens._

 _There he found his horse - Raven; Black body, black mane. She had been a birthday present - he was turning fifteen. As Robin thought about it, it seemed she rightly suited him. His name was the epitome of light, and her's the epitome of darkness. But opposites attract, Robin supposed with a smile._

 _He was broken out of his reverie as he heard the small voice of his sister. "So you're leaving, now? I saw mother saddle up Raven early this morning."_

" _Yes - I am leaving," Robin walked closer to his sister, who was lying in the tall grasses looking up at the drifting clouds above them._

 _As soon as his booted feet made there way next to his sister small body in the grass, he crouched onto the grass, lying on his back next to his younger sister._

" _I'll miss you," Robin voiced in the silence between the winds low howls, grabbing his sister's tiny hand in his as he looked to the clouds above him._

" _I'm going to miss you too," Rae's voice wobbled, as tears coated her throat._

 _Robin noticed a hue of yellow in his periphery, and his brow knit in confusion - he sat up on his elbows, Rae did this same, holding yellow chrysanthemum out to him._

" _What's this?"_

" _You told me that this flower means long life. As long as you have it, nothing can hurt you," the tears welling in Rae's eyes overflowed at the brim, cascading down her fair cheeks in two aligned streaks._

 _Robin gathered his sister in a hug crushing her against him as she cried._

" _I love you, Robin."_

" _I love you too, Gracie"_

 _It was minutes later, once Rae had ceased her crying, that Robin and Rae had both gone inside, that Robin had packed his bag - a paltry amount of clothes and the flower his sister had given him- and with a hug and a promise that he would be truthful, righteous, and good, said goodbye to his mother._

 _He mounted his horse easily, hanging his bag on a hook on the saddle. Taking the reigns, he steered Raven down the path that led to the kingdom of Camelot, staying to a slow trot as Robin looked back to the faces of his family. The same sets of blue eyes on both his mother and his sister - clouded with sadness, tears in their eyes._

 _The only thing that made Robin maintain this trotting was the fact that by doing this, Robin was helping his family. They would be healthy, well-fed, and content._

 _With a dull kick to Raven's side, she broke into a fast canter down the dirt trail._

 **A/N: Hi guys! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! I was gone all last month, and was now able to catch up on writing this story. I will definitely be continuing this story. I would never leave you guys on a cliffhanger without finishing writing this story. I have everything planned out, I just have to write it all out. And me being me, I want it to be perfect for all of the lovely people reading and reviewing this story. So, thank you all for reviewing this story, and reading it for that matter! You are all amazing, and your reviews have brought me to tears. I would have never thought this story would even get one review. So thank you :) And I hoped you liked this first part of Chapter 13 - because there will be three more. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Mentions of domestic abuse, alcoholism, rape, and death. I do not own any of these characters, except for the characters of 'Rae Locksley.'**

"Grace. I wanted to. I wanted to come back for you after I left. But I didn't know what Arthur would do to you or mother if he saw that I was coming to see you again," Robin's whispered as his voice broke, eyes shut closed. Robin pulled back from Rae's embrace, hands on his sister's lower back to look into her familiar grace-filled blue eyes as he always saw them, now rimmed with red, turning a slight pink due to the unshed tears now a film over the white of her eyes.

"Where did you go? Where have you been?" Robin reached for his sister's hand, helping her from the tiled ground.

"You look so… _old_. Rae… how old are you?" Robin asked, wiping away the tears under his sister's eyes, his calloused thumbs trailing over her matured cheekbones, as his hand went to sit at her shoulder.

Rae flashed her older brother a sad smile, tears welling in her eyes.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

No reply.

The entirety of Granny's was silent. Stunned and confused expressions plastered on everyone's faces save David, and Killian. David stood, quickly pointing Robin and the young woman beside him towards the back of Granny's. Killian simply thrust his hook in the air hollering.

"Give the lad a break! Show's over, everyone get back to your tasks!"

Robin looked to Killian and mouthed a quick _thank you_ before he turned to his sister once more as soon as they were out of earshot of the occupants of the Diner.

"Grace you can talk to me," Robin placed a loving hand on his sister's shoulder.

A few beats of silence before she broke.

"I'm twenty five," Rae choked back a sob. "I'm twenty five, Robin." Rae tucked herself under Robin's protective arm, placing her head on his chest as she sobbed.

"It's been nineteen years. I haven't seen you in _nineteen years."_

Robin cradled her head, holding her close. "Well I'm here now, okay? How about we talk about everything later? Catch up then?"

Robin felt Rae nod into his chest.

Unshed tears welled up in Robin's eyes as he placed both of his hands on his sister's shoulders - Rae pulled back to look at her brother's face. Her blue eyes were now a slight pink and rimmed with red.

"You've grown into a beautiful young woman," a warm watery smile graced Robin's face.

Rae let out a sad laugh, her lips pulling upward into a smile, "Thank you, brother."

By this point, Regina and Snow were inside the diner, the sudden commotion causing curiosity to weave itself into their minds. Regina was quick to open the entrance door to Granny's Diner, her eyes wide in surprise.

Snow had walked off to sit near David, and Regina had stayed at the entrance of the diner, unsure of what was going on, still and unmoving.

Upon seeing Robin hugging this young girl, of which seemed to be in her mid-twenties, Regina's curiosity had grown.

Regina, from the diner's entrance door, looked to the all too familiar dimples that graced both sides of her cheeks, to her lips that turned down in a smile of relief, and happiness, to her light brown-blonde hair, to her thin lips and watery eyes.

She couldn't help but feel like she'd seen this woman before…

 _It had been years since Robin had left. Seven years to be exact. After all these years, Robin had been right. King Arthur had granted them with riches, he saved them from the brinks of poverty, that much was evident. A new horse - Amulet, Rae had named her - a cow for cream and milk, vegetables for the garden, but there was something that she had missed most. Or rather some people._

 _She missed her family._

 _About a year earlier, Rae's mother had died of a heart attack, the physician had told her._

 _Rae had cried for hours - days it felt like. As soon as the moment came when she had to grab the shovel to begin digging her mother's grave, Rae realized that she had to be strong._

 _For her mother._

 _For Robin._

 _She had to remind herself that she knew how to do everything to keep her house in order. She knew how to milk the cow, she knew how to get water from the river. She knew how to start a fire, to cook the food._

 _That was all she learned how to do._

 _Save her talent of drawing. It was a hobby of sorts; something she picked up on as she grew older. Now at thirteen, she was somewhat of a professional if she could say so herself. She could even draw things without looking at them._

 _That's when Robin's portrait was created._

 _It was just one day like any other, when the quill had moved across the parchment before she could even recognize what - or who - she was drawing. It was when his dimples, and smile appeared under her quill and onto the parchment that she had realized who exactly she was drawing._

 _Her brother._

 _With a tired exhale, Rae looked to the sky; a bright blue - the sun was hiding behind the clouds today. She couldn't help but wonder what her brother was doing. With a shake of her head, Rae willed the thought away. There was no way she would ever see him again._

 _She just thought of the task at hand. She came out to the river to gather water that she could boil, and in turn, drink with meals and bathe with; like every other day._

 _Rae inhaled._

 _The crisp aroma of the clear river below her, and the deep scent of pine clouded her sense of smell. The river water burrowed itself at her feet leaving a visible moist lining over her linen skirts. She pulled her skirts upward and out of the water to her knees._

 _With a low grunt, Rae stood, pulling the pail out of the water- it was now filled, and heavy. As she made her way to the house, pail in hand, she heard some of the villagers talking in whispers, but Rae was still able to catch what they were saying._

"Did you hear? A soldier's attempting to flee Camelot with a peasant girl he met on one of his treks to do Arthur's bidding? Supposedly Arthur isn't letting him, and is insisting that the peasant be taken on sight. I heard the soldier came from this very town. He now calls himself "Robin Hood" - steals from the rich to give to the poor."

 _Rae dropped the water pail with a_ thud.

 _So many thoughts jumbled in her mind at once._

They were talking about Robin. He was in trouble. She needed to help him.

 _Rae separated herself from her thoughts, grabbing the empty metal pail in one hand, running towards her house._

 _As soon as she made her way to the back porch of her house, she instantly packed a bag, grabbed her flowery cloak, the portrait she had drawn of Robin, and made her way back outside, to her horse, Amulet. The horse's snow white coat reflected in Rae's blue eyes, as her fingers tread through the horse's soft chestnut mane. She saddled the horse up, filling the pack on her back with apples for Amulet._

 _She wrapped her cloak around herself, attaching it at the neck as soon as she mounted her horse. Rae held the reigns tight, advancing the horse forward._

 _Amulet trotted down the same path her brother's horse had taken._

 _Unknown tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, one trailing down her cheek; she quickly wiped a gloved hand over her cheek, grabbing for the reigns again._

 _She set on forward, kicking her horse - not hard enough to hurt - with her heel, breaking Amulet into an accelerated canter._

 _It had been many hours later - the sun was setting in the evening sky, Rae was passing some villagers coming from Camelot, it seemed. She quickly slowed Amulet to a walk as she approached the villagers, pulling out the portrait of her brother as she did so._

 _She stopped Amulet with a deep_ woah _as she slightly pulled back on the reigns._

" _Have any of you seen this man? He's a Camelot soldier, but it seems he's run away."_

 _One older villager lifted his head to observe the piece of parchment. "I'm afraid not, sweetheart," the villager looked to Rae with eyes of sympathy._

" _Well do you know of anyone who can help me find him?"_

 _There was no sounds amongst the small group of villagers, before one - a young man who looked to be about her age, maybe a couple years older - spoke up._

" _I know of someone," he told her._

 _Rae looked at him closely. Piercing blue eyes, and a head of dark brown hair. She gave him a look that told him to continue._

" _There is a Queen who goes by the name of Regina in another kingdom - a sorceress. She actually isn't far away from here if you would like me to guide you," the boy stated._

" _That would be greatly appreciated," Rae smiled at the boy._

 _A woman put a hand on the boy's arm, then. "Peter-"_

" _Mother I'll be fine," the boy reassured the woman. "You know I know where I'm going. The Queen's castle isn't far from here, you know that."_

 _With a low exhale, the boy's mother hugged him, "Okay. Just… be safe."_

 _The boy nodded at his mother, before stepping off to the side to wait for the villagers to pass._

 _Rae, after folding up the portrait and placing it back in her satchel - steered Amulet around the group of villagers to stop next to the teenager._

" _Hop on."_

 _The older boy - Peter, Rae reminded herself - obliged, moving a foot to the stirrup and climbing over the back of the horse, his legs on either side of the horse's back. Not knowing what to do with his hands, the boy placed his hands on his thighs, respectful enough to not wrap his around Rae's torso instantly._

" _Hands around me - nothing more, nothing less. Understand? We don't want you falling off… Peter, is it?"_

 _Peter wrapped his arms around her torso, nothing more, nothing less - as she said._

" _That's me," Peter replied. "What's your name?"_

 _Rae began Amulet at a trot. "Rae. My name's Rae."_

" _That's a nice name. " Rae could hear the smile in the boy's voice._

 _Her cheeks immediately began to blush._

" _Thank you. Now, where is this castle you were speaking of?"_

" _On the other side of the ridge there," Peter pointed to a hill that looked to be about twenty miles north. "We follow his trail, and it should lead us directly to her castle; or really her guards."_

" _Guards?"_

" _Well yes, she's a Queen, what would you expect?"_

" _Point taken."_

 _With a squeeze with both her legs to Amulet's sides, they were going at a canter quickly down the dirt trail, the scent of pine and dirt invading her senses as her hair whipped lightly in the wind._

 _She felt like a six-year old all over again. Rae smiled._

 _It was just a half hour into their journey when Rae figured that Amulet was hungry and parched. Finding a river close by, Rae squeezed Amulet's sides with the inside of her legs, slowing them down to a walk as she came through the thickets of the trees and onto the stone surrounding the river's body._

" _We'll stop here for a few minutes," Rae dismounted effortlessly , "Amulet needs to build her strength, and I'm a bit sore from the saddle."_

 _Peter swung a leg over the horse, and placing his other foot on the right stirrup, dismounted as well._

" _Amulet. Is that your horse's name?"_

" _Indeed," Rae answered, flashing a warm smile in Peter's direction, as she walked to the bag strapped to the saddle. She opened the bag and stuck her hand inside, two apples appearing as she pulled her hand out of the leather satchel._

 _She moved over to Amulet's front, feeding her a red apple. Amulet took it from Rae's hand and into her mouth, biting into it with a loud_ crunch! _before Rae turned toward Peter, another apple in her hand. "Apple?"_

 _Peter shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm fine."_

" _Peter, take it, I insist. You got me this far, you're going to eat something," Rae extended the apple even farther towards the teenager._

 _Peter took the apple gratefully, taking a bite out of it with a loud_ crunch! _Before Rae spoke again._

" _I'm going to take Amulet to the river bed for a drink. I'll be right back."_

 _Peter nodded in acknowledgement as he took another bite of his apple._

 _Rae took Amulet by a reign, guiding her towards the river. In a matter of minutes she was back; her eyes red and puffy at the edges._

" _Are you alright?"_

 _Rae's head shook as she looked down to the ground below. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she began to speak, her voice breaking, "No, I'm not alright."_

 _She moved to sit her back against a tree trunk, pulling her knees up to her chest._

" _What seems to be troubling you? Is this about that man in the drawing you showed my family? Who is he?" Peter walked closer to Rae, crouching to his knees beside Rae._

 _Rae nodded, answering,"He's my brother."_

" _Well you came out here to get the Queen's help in finding him, right? So that's exactly what you're going to do."_

" _Here," Peter pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her._

" _Thank you," Rae sniffled._

 _Rae's eyes fell upon the lion stitched on its front. "Why a lion?"_

" _Pardon?"_

" _On the handkerchief - why a lion? What does it symbolize?"_

" _Well it's the Camelot crest. You said your brother was a soldier of Arthur's, right? He probably has a tattoo of it on his inner arm - something Arthur orders of all of his soldiers when they enlist. To ensure that if they were to get captured by the enemy, tortured beyond recognition, they - Arthur's soldiers - would be able to tell that he was one of theirs."_

 _Rae could see the wave of sadness pass over Peter._

" _How do you know all of this?"_

" _My father - he was a soldier. Died on the job."_

 _An instant_ I'm sorry _fell from Rae's lips, her voice dripping with empathy._

" _Rae, you_ will _find you brother; I know it."_

 _Rae looked up, then. "How do you? How do you know I'll find him?"_

" _Well, your dedication. You are going to a dark sorceress for christ sakes. I'm sure you've heard the stories."_

 _Rae nodded. She had heard the stories of the great and terrible Evil Queen who slaughtered villages, who ripped out hearts and added them to her collection in her vault, hidden from prying eyes._

" _Speaking of going, we should really do that," Peter looked up at the sky, "Don't want to get stuck here in the dark."_

 _Peter stood and extended a hand towards Rae, who took it gratefully._

" _Thank you."_

 _Rae went to hand Peter the handkerchief, but Peter waved a hand as they walked towards the horse together. "Keep it"._

 _Rae tucked the handkerchief into her cloak's inside pocket, with a_ thank you _in Peter's direction, and within seconds the two were mounting the horse, and on their way to Regina's Castle._

 _It was about ten minutes into the ride towards the Dark Castle that Rae had spoken up, breaking the silence. "Have you ever learned how to ride a horse, Peter?"_

" _My father taught me as a young boy, why?"_

" _Well, one would assume that this dark sorceress doesn't very much like intruders. If she were to find Amulet, God knows what she would do with her; and you need to go to your family after we arrive at the castle, correct? So, you take Amulet - ride to wherever they are. Once you make it to that point, just hit her on her backside - she will return to my home."_

 _Peter nodded, "Thanks."_

" _No problem at all," Rae nodded to a dark building hidden behind a thicket of large oak trees, about a yard away from them, "is that it?"_

 _Peter followed her gaze, "That's it." He nodded._

 _Rae slowed Amulet down to a walk, then stopped her with a squeeze of both her legs to Amulet's sides._

" _I'll walk from here." Rae put a hand to the saddle as she dismounted. Peter sat forward in the saddle, taking the reigns as Rae grabbed for her satchel, throwing it around her shoulders so that it crossed diagonally over her front._

" _Thank you again, Rae," Peter pat the horse's side, "for letting me ride Amulet home."_

" _You're welcome," Rae looked into Amulet's whiskey-colored eyes, her eyes falling upon her snow white coat giving a stroke to Amulet's cheekbone before she took a step away from Amulet, giving Peter the okay to leave._

" _Well, be careful. The Queen is much more darker than one would assume, and you haven't even met her," Peter backed Amulet up as Rae nodded solemnly, her blue eyes shining in acknowledgement as she turned to head down the dirt trail._

 _Peter turned to leave, starting Amulet into a walk back down the trail._

 _Rae quickly turned around to see Peter's back and Amulet's chestnut-colored tail swaying with each step._

" _Peter."_

 _Peter quickly turned to face Rae, a questioning look in his eyes._

" _Thank you, again - for helping me get here. I am in your debt."_

" _It was the honorable thing to do," Peter winked as he turned, back to Rae, starting Amulet into a canter down the trail._

 _The brunette turned back towards the castle then, a warm smile tugging her lips upward, and blood rushing to her cheeks, as she started towards the Dark Castle, one foot in front of the other as her hands met at the leather strap slung over her body._

Regina, standing at the entrance of the diner, looked up once more to the young woman who was now in tears, kneeled on the floor in Robin's tight yet protective embrace.

Three words Rae had just been spoken imprinted themselves on Regina's mind.

 _Thank you, brother._

So she was Robin's sister. Why had he never brought up his sister? Even in conversation? Where had she been all this time?

Regina's gaze shifted as the two siblings were now standing; Robin's right hand on his sister's lower back, his sister's fingers clenching around Robin's forearm, holding on to him for dear life it seemed. Her eyes depicted the emotion of fear and panic as she looked around the crowded diner - most of the occupants had gone quiet. Regina caught on to the sudden anxiety that seemed to pass through the young woman.

 _Afraid of what she encountered next._

Regina knew that look.

Because that's exactly the way she used to look when she was Robin's sisters age.

That was the look of a young girl, in her mid-twenties, afraid, not knowing when the next man would lay a hand on her. Regina remembered flinching at the touch of any man who came towards her that she didn't feel comfortable with.

Robin was the only man that Rae could come in contact with at the moment, and Regina completely understood this.

In those days, late at night, after Leopold had "done his business" with her, a younger version of Regina had sat in her too-large bathtub, shivering beneath the bath water after dismissing her hand maids, attempting to scrub over every layer of skin that that man had touched and defiled upon contact.

She remembered having only one person's arms she could feel comfortable in, only one person's arms that manufactured a sense of utter relief within her; a sense of alleviation.

Glad that there was someone in the world who was _good_. Regina needed to be in the arms of someone in the world who she knew would never want to hurt her: her father.

For Robin's sister that was her brother, and Regina couldn't be happier. Regina was glad that there was someone Robin's sister felt comfortable around. God knows when Regina's father wasn't allowed in the castle some days, Regina felt as if she was completely alone.

Granted, Snow attempted to suffice as those arms that she could come to in times of consolation and relief, but what would a child know of such horrific and virtue-taking acts? What would a child understand of her father's wicked ways with his young bride?

What version of Regina - even the evil version that had once plagued her entire being after her first true love had died - would ever let such a young girl know of her father's beastly and cruel acts?

None.

Because although Regina had been evil and malevolent then, that didn't mean that she didn't have a shred of sympathy within her dark heart, to will herself to withhold those dark truths from the young girl she had practically raised; those dark truths being pertinent to one of the people that young girl had looked up to, to one of the only people Snow had come to for almost everything.

Leopold.

It was maybe only minutes after Robin stood, when he felt a slight tug on the bottom of his cloak. Robin turned to find his son standing behind him, a curious yet nervous look plaguing his features.

"Papa? Who is that? And why are you crying?" the young boy whispered to his father.

Robin, crouching to Roland's height, let out a lighthearted laugh as the unshed tears building up in the brims of his eyes, finally came to trail down both his cheeks.

Robin clutched Roland's hand in his own as he spoke, whispering.

"Roland, do you remember how I told you that Daddy had a sister?"

The young boy nodded solemnly.  
"Well," Robin turned to his sister then speaking above a whisper, Roland in tow, "Daddy's sister is back now, and she'd _really_ love to meet you. Roland…this is your Aunt Rae."

A shaking hand went up to Rae's mouth in shock, as tears welled in her eyes, "I have a nephew"

Robin smiled, as he inched his son closer to his sister; she was now kneeling on the tiled floor, staring at her brother's son with wide eyes, filled with love.

A watery smile gracing her lips as she willed herself to speak, "Hello, Roland."

A small smile graced Roland's face as he replied with a ' _hello_ ' back.

Rae looked to her nephew's dark brown orbs then, extending a hand towards the young boy, "I'm very happy to be meeting you."

Roland took Rae's hand, shaking slightly as he spoke, "My Papa talks about you to me a lot."

Rae smiles at that, looking up at her brother from her kneeled position, " He does, does he?" Roland nods profusely, as a broad smile overtakes his features, his eyes going bright with excitement. A small smile graced Robin's lips the minute he saw Roland's bright eyes. He was happy his son was happy. Happy that after everything he had gone through in the past weeks, with Zelena and all, he was still able to stay his bright, happy boy.

It was then, looking into his son's brown orbs, that he was reminded of Regina. He quickly turned towards the front of the diner to see Regina, a still hand on her abdomen, the other hand shaking outright in front of her.

Robin's eyes trailed up to her face. Her brows were furrowed in confusion as she stared blatantly in front of her into what seemed like nothing.

Robin could tell she was thinking about something from her past; something dark.

Robin quickly swiveled his head to look at his sister with eyes of optimism, a fake smile plastered itself onto Robin's face, hiding the dread that seemed to overtake Robin. First reaching his core, as he felt his heart drop down to his stomach, as his palms began to sweat.

Robin took Rae's hands quickly, and spoke the words quickly, he needed to check on Regina, and at best maybe introduce his sister and his lover.

"Erm..Rae," Robin smiled slightly, "my...my fiancé - you have yet to meet her. So, how about you stay here with Roland," Robin set a hand on Roland's tuft of brown curls not taking his eyes away from his sister, "And I'll be right back with her, okay?"

Rae's lips instantly spread into a broadened smile, nodding as she grabbed Roland's hand in her own. "Let's go sit down, hmm?"

Roland smiled, pulling Rae to the nearest booth with a giggle.

Robin quickly turned and headed for Regina at the front of the diner.

She looked.. _scared_.

One of her hands were still on her abdomen the other shaking slightly. Robin's eyes trailed up to the brunette's face, her eyes seemed to hold the demeanor of fright and sudden shock, or sadness; Robin couldn't tell which.

A sense of dread instantly overcame Robin; he felt as if his heart had dropped in his stomach.

 _Not again. Not another bad thing._

He couldn't take it. He could'nt.

Robin walked over to Regina with careful cautious steps, internally pleading to himself that she was alright.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you all who are continuing to read this. I know I haven't updated in awhile, I've been busy with moving into my new house, as well as studying for exams for AP courses. But I will be continuing with this story, so you all have nothing to worry about. By the way, stay tuned for the** **author's note at the end of the chapter** **\- it's important. Happy reading!**

 **Rating: M**

 **Disclaimer: Mentions of marital rape, child rape, panic attacks, blood, and death.**

 _A thirteen year old Rae approached the dark sorceress's castle, hidden behind thickets of bushes and oak trees, willing each foot forward as constant muddled thoughts of doubt clouded themselves in her mind. But despite these doubts, Rae kept telling herself that If she was going to help her brother she needed the Queen's help, even if the Queen sent her away, or worse, she wanted to be able to say she tried._

 _Rae's gaze locked onto two soldiers who guarded the entrance of the castle, swords in their sheaths, black armor covering their bodies, including their faces. Rae had to think quick. She grabbed an apple from her satchel throwing it down a vacant corridor opposite of herself - distracting the soldiers with its noise. Both soldiers ran towards the sound. Rae let out a breath of relief accompanied with a faint chuckle._

Imbeciles _, Rae rolled her eyes._

 _Cautiously, Rae stepped towards the entrance, pressing a hand to the large metal lock, sliding it open with pristine precision - cautious to not make a sound. With a breath of relief, she swiftly slipped between the crack in the door, continuing with her whispered footfalls across pristine marble floors contrary to dirt-packed ground. Only the sound of her discreet steps reverberated off of the stone castle walls, much like echoes, until another sound joined it._

Screams. _Rae recognized the shrieks to be a woman's - blood-curdling screams._

 _The riotous_ _sound echoed down the stone corridors, causing the hairs on Rae's arms and the nape of her neck to stand on end. She cringed. It was when Rae listened closer, that she could make only two words between the loud bellows and shrieks that pierced the silence of the night._

"Stop! No! Stop! No!"

 _Rae's steps quickened in curiosity as she followed the ear-splitting shrieks. Who was that? Rae froze as she approached a large wooden door._ That's _where the screams were coming from. Rae's hands became slick with sweat as she thought of the only person this room could belong to._

 _The Queen._

 _The screams sent chills down her spine, and caused her to shake from head to toe. Something pulled inside of her then, telling her to crack open the door and peer inside; Rae let out a breath of relief when the door didn't squeak; granted the squeaking of the door would never have been heard over the Queen's shrills._

 _Rae peered inside the bedchamber, the uproarious screams of the woman before her causing a slight ringing to sound in her ears. Rae's eyes locked onto the Queen's convulsing form, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for the monarch - she was having a nightmare. The moon reflected off of the sheen of sweat sticking to the Queen's skin as she thrashed. Rae whipped her gaze to the woman's arms - she had been clawing at them, pressing her nails into the milky flesh of her palm. As if she was trying to keep someone away from her._

 _Blood pooled in the Queen's hands, and trickled down her forearms as her thrashing increased._

 _Rae's eyes widened in horror as her bright blue eyes latched onto the dark shade of crimson that was now staining the linen sheets._

" _What's a girl like you doing in here?" Rae quickly turned around. Her eyes locked with the one's of Regina's guard, his piercing green eyes clouded with darkness._

 _Agitation. Repulsion. And as his eyes trailed over her body they immediately clouded with lust._

 _Rae froze, her mouth suddenly going dry._

 _The knight, clad in dark armor, grabbed Rae forcefully at the arm, ripping his head peice off in the green-eyed knight was inches from her face then._

" _Oh I'll have fun with you,_ girl _," The soldier whispered in a breath, the pungent scent of alcohol clouding Rae's senses._

 _She blinked hard, a lone tear cascading down her cheek. Her mouth went dry, her throat constricted, and fright coiled in her stomach._

 _The Queen was still screaming in her chambers._

 _The knight unbuckled his belt, throwing it away from him, letting his dark black pants fall to his knees. No clothing save the pant-like undergarment covered his manhood from Rae's young eyes. She knew what he was going to do to her. The belt thrown nonchalantly upon the marble floor told her as much._

 _She began to scream then. Scream for help - for anyone. The knight backed Rae into the stone wall beside the wooden door, his gloved hands on either of Rae's forearms. Sobbing, she attempted to squirm out of the black knights grip, letting out a high-pitched scream.._

" _Stop!" The Queen's screams and sobs abruptly ceased._

 _No sounds save Rae's screams echoed down the stone corridors of the castle. Rae thrashed and kicked at the soldier, as she sobbed. It was only a matter of seconds and, in her peripheral vision, Rae spot the wooden door she had cracked open minutes earlier - it was wide open._

 _A certain darkness leaked from the Queen's bedchamber and onto the reflective charcoal-colored marble like smoke._

 _Rae blinked once more. That wasn't smoke._

 _That was magic._

 _Within seconds, a ball of fire came barreling towards the knight - it's orange, red, and yellow hues illuminating her piercing blue eyes - the flames latching themselves onto the knight before her, causing him to fall to the solid marble floor in agony. Rae's eyes searched for the origin of the man-made flame._

 _And her gaze fell upon the Queen._

 _._

 _._

 _._

With a quick intake of breath, Regina was broken out of her reverie as she felt a warm calloused hand on her wrist.

She hadn't realized she was shaking. One slow breath out, and Regina quickly willed her shaking hand to clench into a fist, now confining the shaking to a small twitch.

It was then that a warm subtle voice cut into her mind, ceasing anymore dreadful memories from coursing throughout her brain.

Robin's voice.

"Regina?" She looked to Robin's eyes- the light and dark blue hues calming her- the two blue orbs easing her; only holding concern.

"Are you alright? You're shaking." Regina blinked once, then again.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," Regina gaze shifted to the young woman - Robin's sister, Regina reminded herself - now sitting a few feet away from the couple in one of the booths on the far wall, Roland next to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay… There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Robin's lips pulled up into a small smile as he placed a hand on Regina's lower back, leading her towards the young woman sitting in the booth.

It was only in a matter of seconds that the couple was inches away from the booth's cold, metal table. Regina's nails dug into the milky flesh of her palm in anxiousness - her other hand in Robin's comforting and warm hold.

She couldn't help feeling like she'd seen this girl before; maybe she was someone from her past? Regina rubbed the thought over in her mind for a few seconds before she was broken out of her reverie; feeling the gentle squeeze of Robin's calloused palm against hers.

Robin was speaking to his sister; Rae was now looking up at the couple. Optimism and happiness shined in her sapphire eyes, the minute her gaze landed on the brunette.

"Rae..this is my fiance, Regina." His smile after these words were spoken seemed as if it could light up an entire room.

"Regina..this is my younger sister, Rae."

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _The monarch's whiskey eyes were bloodshot - empty of all emotion save the sudden anger the passed through her eyes as her gaze locked onto the man's writhing, screaming form on her marble floors - her cheeks devoid of color, save the hint of moonlight that glinted off of the tear tracks on her cheeks. Her dark auburn hair framed her face, cascading down the fronts of her shoulders and onto a thin black silk robe. Her arms wrapped around herself as she trembled._

 _A shaking, bloodied hand moved over the scorching body, and with a puff of smoke, a pile of the soldier's ashes was left in its place._

 _Rae stepped back to face the Queen full front, her hands trembling at her sides._

 _Regina's eyes were empty, as if she was looking into the nothingness beyond the pile of ash in front of her. As if she wasn't fully_ there _._

 _Within seconds, the two soldiers that Rae had distracted outside the palace's entrance doors came around the corridor, eyes searching for the young girl that had broken into the castle. One soldier's gaze slid to Rae, a small smirk taking over his lips, a certain darkness clouding in his eyes. The soldiers, with whispered footfalls across marble, headed for the young girl, although she could not see them - and Regina either, as she was in her empty state. Both soldiers, at either side, quickly grabbed Rae at her upper arms. Upon contact, Rae jumped, a fear-filled scream ripping from her throat._

 _One of the knights leant down to the brunette's ear whispering of how they had her now, and there would be no more breaking into the Queen's castle, or she would find herself under the sharp blade of a guillotine for committing treason before she could utter another word._

 _The knights began walking, Rae in tow._

" _No! Wait!" Rae attempted to turn her head towards the monarch, kicking towards the feet of the black knights as they dragged her across the marble floors, but despite her best efforts, the soldiers kept her facing forward._

" _Your Majesty! I need your help!"_

 _Regina held up a hand then, "Guards!" her hoarse voice echoed down the stone corridor and registered in Rae's ears. "Bring the girl here," the monarch ordered._

 _Rae's eyes lit up with hope then. Both soldiers swiftly turned - with Rae in the middle of them - walking insync step by step towards the Queen until they were just a few feet away from her. They gripped Rae at her upper arms, their eyes dull as if waiting to heed their Queen's next request. The brunette began walking, a hand up in the air requesting them to follow her with the girl. The soldiers did as asked._

 _Rae's brows shot up in question. Where were they going to take her?_

 _Within minutes they approached a small sitting room, Rae's eyes scanned the entirety of the space - to her left was a mirror, to her right was a plush velvet seat, right in front of her, an armoire, and a vanity at its side, a piece of parchment on the vanity's wood surface, a small bottle of dark ink adjacent to it. Regina turned towards the guards then, eyes now wet with the onset of tears._

" _Guards. You are dismissed," Her voice was now steady, guards quickly disposed of the girl in their arms, throwing her to the marble below and walking away in unison, their steps once more insync. As Rae caught herself with her hands, her satchel fell from her shoulder, its contents spilling onto the reflective floor before the Queen. Regina's eyes immediately locked onto the white handkerchief that had scattered across the dark marble to stop at her feet - or more specifically the black lion stitched into its front._

The Lion Tattoo.

 _She was shaking from head to toe, not knowing what to make of twist of fate._

 _Tinkerbell's words rung in her head, throbbing like a dull headache brought on by too much noise. '_ Pixie dust doesn't lie… This is your chance at love and happiness.'

 _Regina's thoughts were interrupted by the small voice of the young girl before her._

" _I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," Rae quickly grabbed for the drawing of her brother, as well as the handkerchief. Regina shook her head forcefully willing the thought from her mind as soon as the piece of white cloth was out of her line of vision._

No. She would never have happiness. Even if Tinkerbell _was_ right. This, this _man with the lion tattoo_ would never love a woman such as herself.

 _Regina looked to the younger girl before her - scanned her from top to bottom. Piercing blue eyes, Light brown- blonde hair, a set of dimples on her cheeks._

 _Rae looked to the Queen's bloodied hands - to the streaks of dried blood that had run down her forearms._

" _Your Majesty, would you like me to bandage and wash the dried blood off of your hands? I don't think you would want them to get infected." Regina nodded solemnly sitting down in the plush velvet seat, and with a wave of her hand and a cloud of purple smoke, a roll of bandages appeared in Regina's fingered grip, and a basin with soapy water had appeared next to her, along with a rag under its suds and dry cloth at its reached for the rag, wringing it out over the basin, and bringing it to Regina's forearms, now covered with thin trails of dried blood that started from the crescent moon-shaped cuts on her palms to end down at her elbows. Rae gently took the woman's arm in her left hand and scrubbed over the dried blood on the Queen's arms with her right. The room was silent._

 _As soon as she was done, Rae grabbed the dry cloth and coasted it over the brunette's arms drying the water from her skin._

 _Rae, a tentative look settling itself on her face, slowly reached for the bandages in Regina's hands. Regina's gaze lifted from her lap, to the eyes of the young girl before her. The brunette gently grabbed the girl's slender wrist in her fingers, and set the roll of gauze in her palm, wrapping the girl's fingers around the white roll of pressed cotton, laying her hands in her lap once more._

" _Don't worry. I won't bite," The Queen's delicate smile threw the thirteen year old off, and Regina could easily see this. The young girl began working; gently wrapping the gauze around the brunette's bloodied palms - not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough to stay put._

" _I assume you've heard the stories," The Queen stated, distracting herself by picking at the lace embroidered onto the hem of her deep purple silk nightgown with the hand the girl wasn't bandaging._

" _Yes, I've heard the stories. But you don't seem that_ evil _to me. Your Majesty, respectively speaking, you have done some bad things in your life, but that doesn't mean that you can't change your perspective - be better. And I don't think any of those rioting villagers know a thing about your past, do they? If so, they probably wouldn't be treating you so harshly," Rae flashed a lopsided smile towards the Queen._

 _Regina was taken aback by the girl's words. After hearing all of the dark stories, of the malevolent woman known to slaughter villages, torture people for information regarding Snow White's whereabouts, and rip out hearts to add to her collection, this girl was choosing to see good in her. Tears glazed over Regina's whiskey eyes, as she brought forth a questioning look as she whispered. "What do you know of my past?"_

 _A few beats of silence and the young girl spoke, moving to the other hand with the gauze._

 _Rae unraveled the cotton, wrapping it around Regina's palm gently._

" _When I arrived inside your castle, I heard you… screaming in your chambers. I peered inside - you were having a nightmare. It seemed as if you were trying to get away from someone, or rather you were trying to get someone away from moment that knight threw his belt to the marble in front of me - his pants hung to his knees - I began screaming. And then… your screams stopped, and within seconds you saved me. No hesitance whatsoever. A villain would never do such a thing ,would they?"_

 _Rae flashed a small smile at the Queen as she ripped the gauze strip to tie the bandage to the monarch's wrist, and set her hands in her lap, sitting back on her heels. A quick 'thank you' left Regina's mouth, and Rae - after a quick nod and a 'my pleasure' - looked into the monarch's brown eyes with sympathy._

" _You lit a man on fire as if he were a torch, seething anger in your eyes. I can tell that you come from a situation familiar to one that could've been my own."_

 _Regina's dark eyes met with one's of bright blue, tears gathering in them instantly._

" _You're right," Regina's voice was hoarse, tear-coated. "But," Regina sighed in a quick exhale before clearing her throat and standing up elegantly trailing the marbled floor with whispered footfalls,"that is not something that I will discuss with a girl of your age. You're too young to know of such matters. You're what… twelve, I pres-"_

" _Thirteen," the word left Rae's mouth before she could even think of proper manners that she was to uphold in front of such royalty. Regina did not question this interruption as she usually did with other peasants. Despite Regina's want to correct this young girl on the proper forms of manners, she ignored this quick act of bad form and went on to listen to the girl._

" _I just turned thirteen last August."_

 _Regina nodded slowly in acknowledgment._

" _Your Majesty," the young girl added. Regina fought the urge to smile. This girl was rather relatable. Reminded herself of her at her age._

" _So what is it you so badly need_ my _help with?"_

" _It's my brother; he's in King Arthur of Camelot's Army. Or was - I'm not sure. I've heard word from a few villagers that he has fled the army to be with a woman he met on one of his trip's to do Arthur's bidding. Arthur doesn't like this, and is ordering that whoever sees this woman kidnaps her on site and brings her to him."_

" _And how am_ I _included?"_

" _I need a powder that - if I blow it onto Arthur - all memories of my brother will be erased. I need Arthur to forget about my brother so he can run off with this woman." Regina looked to the young girl, contemplating the notion of helping this girl's brother. As Regina stared at the young girl, she couldn't help but see herself. A strong yet vulnerable girl, with no one. No family. Granted Regina did have her father, he would never understand her. He never even stood up for her as a young girl as her mother abused her with her magic and her words._

 _Regina's eyes shined, impressed. "Brave."_

"" _Brave"? What do you mean?"_

 _Regina looked to the girl with nostalgic eyes. "You're brave. You remind me of myself when I was your age."_

" _So you'll help me?" The young girl's eyes gleamed with hope._

 _Regina couldn't help the small hint of a smile that shined through her eyes as she saw the young girl's smile, graceful and bright._

" _Yes. I will help you. But," Regina eyed the young girl, a hesitant look on her features, "I need_ you _to do something for_ me _."_

" _Anything," the girl stated, a pleading in her voice._

" _Very well," the Queen walked with whispered footfalls towards her armoire, opening it to reveal more potions and powders than Rae had ever seen in her entire life. Regina plucked a faux leather pouch, and a tiny bottle with a glowing purple liquid inside from a shelf, and turned towards the young girl, two items in hand._

 _Regina spoke. "This pouch contains the powder you seek," Regina held her right hand containing the leather bound bag towards the girl, "Just blow it onto the person you wish to extract memories from, and think of the person you wish to take away from the person's memory." Regina held the small bottle to the light then, it's purple hue glowing in the fire-light. "However this - this is a memory potion. I don't want anyone to know of this interaction between you and I. I don't need anyone thinking I've gone soft. You drink this, and you will forget that you ever saw me, ever even set_ foot _in this castle. The only things you will remember is that you obtained the powder, and how to use it."_

 _Rae took the small bottle in between her thumb and fore finger, eyeing it with hesitance as if it was poison. Seeming as if Regina could read her mind, the monarch spoke, "It's not poison, Dear. Drink up." Rae brought the potion up to her lips, took a swig of the tasteless drink, and within seconds, was poofed to the edge of the woods with no memory of what had just happened. The only thought coursing through her mind was that she had to get to Arthur._

 _Step by step Rae began trekking through the woods towards the stone castle of Camelot._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _With a graceful wave of Regina's bandaged hand, the girl vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. The brunette let out a shaky breath as she sat herself down slowly, hands shaking as one lone thought clouded her mind._

The Lion Tattoo _._

 _Regina's mind brought her back to the night she was led to her soulmate through the magic of the fairy who had promised her happiness and second chances. She remembered the nervousness that coursed through her veins, making her palms sweat and her head throb. She remembered the man with the sandy blonde hair that sat with his back to her, the black ink etched onto his inner arm._

 _She remembered the tears of fear that sprung to her eyes as her brown orbs locked onto the green pixie dust that trailed through the opaque glass of the bar's entrance, to the man sitting at the wooden table in the middle of the tavern._

 _She remembered the anger that coursed through her veins like wildfire, and how it had began disappearing the minute that green fairy saved her from herself. Her anger was all she had, and without it, she felt as if she would float away, like a feather in the breeze. Maybe that's what she needed. Maybe she needed to let go of the anger weighing her down maybe…_

 _Regina shook her head, forcing the thought out of her mind. If she opened herself up to love, she was just going to have it ripped away from her - Regina knew as much._

 _She remembered being afraid. Being afraid to let love back into her life after Daniel._

 _Regina's mind brought her back to the sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyed girl that stood before her just seconds ago._

 _Regina felt a push of familiarity course through her but shrugged it off as she walked toward the armoire next to her vanity._

 _She could only think of one thing with each step on the smooth marble floors._

 _She wanted to forget._

 _Forget about the handkerchief. Forget about the girl and her crystal blue eyes, and her brother, and her troubles, and her surprising kindness._

 _She wanted to forget it all._

 _Regina opened the armoire with haste, her nimble fingers grabbing at the wooden planks of the repository with a certain quickness and ferocity._

 _Her eyes skimmed the shelves and instantly lit up as the sudden purple hue of the magical liquid was reflected in her dark brown orbs._

 _Regina smiled._

 _Regina took the small glass bottle between her forefinger and her thumb. This memory potion_ could _be reversed, only if she touched the girl that had drank the memory potion minutes earlier. Regina shrugged her shoulders, the thought that she would never see the girl again running through her mind as she brought the potion up to her lips. After drinking the tasteless contents inside the bottle, the transparent bottle in her hand immediately disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke._

 _Regina blinked once, and upon opening her eyes the actions that took place earlier left her mind._

 _Regina looked around her. She was in her sitting room. With confused eyes, Regina looked down to the cotton wrapped around her hands. Upon seeing the water in the basin with its blood-tinged hues, Regina's mind brought back new memories of what had happened that night._

 _Regina had woken from her nightmare screaming, blood on her sheets and cuts on her arms and on the milky flesh of her palms. Her servant heard her and padded down to the Queen's bedchambers. The servant guided Regina to her sitting room, and patched up her hands and cleaned her sheets._

 _Regina was brought out of her reverie as she began walking down to her bedchamber with whispered footfalls on marble floor. Quiet - almost silent._

 _Entering her room, Regina spotted her sheets, they were clean, fresh. Regina pulled her robe around her tightly once more, and buried herself under the plush of her comforter._

 _Regina's head hit the pillow and she was succumbed to sleep._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Rae swiftly extended a slender hand in Regina's direction. "Well I'm glad I have the honor of meeting the beautiful mother of this charming little boy," Rae's smiled brightly, her eyes flitting over Roland's small form opposite her, in the cushioned seat. Regina eyes went wide, her mouth dry, her hand still in Robin's, the other clenched at her side. Robin leaned towards his son, whispering lightly. "Hey little man, how about you go sit over there with Henry, Killian, and David? I think they would like your company." Robin pointed towards the diner's bar. A broad smile spread over his son's face, as he nodded profusely with an _okay daddy_ , and that was that.

As soon as Roland left, Robin let out a low exhale, scrubbing a hand down his face. Regina could feel the wave of sadness go over Robin.

Regina squeezed Robin's hand gently in support before the urge to vomit took over.

Regina attempted to keep the ill feeling at bay, but the dull acidic burning in her throat told her otherwise. She had to get out of there.

With a quick gasp, Rae's eyes searched Regina's in a frantic panic and concern.

"Regina, are you alright? You don't look well. Your deathly pale. Is everything okay?"

Before she could say a word, Regina - with her eyes wide - ripped her hand from Robin's, held a quick hand to her abdomen, the back of her other hand over her abdomen, and made a bee-line for the bathroom attempting to breath through her nose.

Dread dug deep in Robin's core, as he saw Regina run for the bathroom. He started towards her in a panicked worry, before a gentle hand came to rest on Robin's shoulder.

Robin looked to the presence behind him.

It was Snow.

"Morning sickness," the princess whispered. "You two talk. I got her." Snow walked quickly towards the diner's bathroom without another word.

It seemed the heartfelt conversation was going to prolong itself, Robin thought to himself.

Robin looked to his sister once more; her eyes still held their concern for Regina, although it looked as if a certain questioning look clouded in Rae's sapphire eyes.

"'Why haven't I gone after her'?" Robin asked for his sister, accompanied with an exhale as Robin sat down in the cushioned seat opposite his sister.

Rae nodded, her brows knit in confusion.

"Regina - she's pregnant; three weeks along. We found out this morning. She's been having morning sickness since. It comes and goes. A.. friend is helping her."

Rae's eyes shined in acknowledgement. "Congratulations," her lips turned up in a small smile.

"Thank you," Robin couldn't hide his dimpled smile. "As for Roland, Regina isn't his mother - or biological mother, anyway; I was married to another woman before I met her-"

"The woman you ran away with, correct?" Rae interrupted her brother.

"Yes - her name was Marian… how do you know of her?" Robin asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Years after you had left to enlist in King Arthur's army, I heard word from a few villagers that you were to run away with a woman who you had met while on a journey of Arthur's order."

"Where is she? I don't see her here," Rae's lips descended to a flat line as her eyes clouded with an emotion between sadness and curiosity. Her eyes scanned the entirety of the diner.

"She… died. After I left the army, her and I became bandits - hid in the woods. Not many years after we had Roland, I… inadvertently put her in harm's way during the job. She was kidnapped, and lost to me forever. There was no way to get her back. My Merry Men and I have been taking care of Roland ever since," a few beats of silence, "After a few years without her, I learned that I had to love again, that I had to stop letting the guilt I had over her death weigh me down, for my son's sake. I had to believe in love again. That's when I met Regina," Robin smiled. "And she is absolutely and positively the love of my life, I have no idea what I'd do without her. She makes me stronger."

A small smile grew upon Robin's lips. The incident that occurred just a few hours earlier, appeared in Robin's mind. He had no idea what he would've done if he were to lose her, and their child.

Rae smiled sadly, setting a hand upon her brother's. "I'm sorry - about your wife. My condolences."

Robin flashed his sister a look of acknowledgement, "Thank you, Grace. So… how's mother?"

Rae looked to her skirts beneath the table with no reply.

"Rae… How is she? Has something happened?"

Rae spoke then, her voice breaking, "She's dead, Robin - died thirteen years ago."

A few beats of silence. "Heart attack."

Tears pricked at Robin's eyes, as he let out a hitched gasp. Before he could say another word, he saw Snow and Regina out of his periphery, Snow's hand on Regina's right shoulder, both of Regina's hands hung at her side. Snow walked to the booth Robin and Rae were sharing - Regina in tow. Robin cleared his throat as his eyes instantly flitted to Regina's with concern, looking for any discomfort or pain in his lovers' whiskey-brown eyes.

Thankfully, there was none.

"Are you alright?" Stepping out of the booth, Robin reached for Regina's hand guiding her toward the cushioned seat with ease.

"I'm alright" Regina nodded, swallowing thickly.

As soon as she sat, Regina smiled. "I'm sorry for that. Just got a bit sick there. It's very nice to meet you, Rae."

Robin leaned towards Regina's ear, a small smile at his lips, whispering, "She knows." Regina's whiskey eyes - their gaze still locked onto Robin's sister - flashed with acknowledgment. "So Robin told you… about our baby," A small smile graced Regina's lips as her hand went to her flat abdomen instinctively where their daughter resided.

Rae's eyes brightened as she smiled.

"That he did. That is amazing news! Congratulations to you both," Rae placed a hand on Regina's that laid on the diner's table.

Upon contact, a wave of memories coursed through both of the women's minds.

Memories of the deafening uproar of Regina's screams, the Queen's bloody palms, the green-eyed soldier - his belt on the marble, the yellow and orange hues of Regina's fireball, the look of emptiness on the brunette's face, the unshed tears brimming in her eyes, the powder that she used to erase Robin from Arthur's memory in a small brown leather bag in her palm, and lastly the memory potion that Regina had her take before she was poofed to the edge of the woods.

Simultaneously, the two women's eyes jerked to each other's. Regina's hand still on the diner's metal table, and Rae's covering it. The young woman's eyes swam with a mix of surprise and gratefulness. They welled with tears, as she stared at the brunette, the same look reflected back at her in the brunette's whiskey eyes.

Robin looked to the two women, confusion and concern etched on his face. "What's wrong?"

Regina quickly cleared her throat blaming her tears on 'the damn hormones', Rae blamed her's on the fact that she was happy that she was going to have another niece or nephew.

"It's a girl." Robin wasn't able to hide the smile that appeared on his face. He couldn't help but think. Would she have have her mother's brown tresses and her father's crystal blues? Or her father's sandy blonde hair and rich brown orbs like her mother? Or would she look just like Regina? Brown locks, with whiskey brown eyes, great at masking all internal emotion.

A smile instantly played on Rae's lips, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Both Robin and Regina said in unison.

"And I'm sorry that I mistook you to be Roland's biological mother, you two just look so alike, so I assumed."

Regina waved a hand, dismissing the young woman's words. "It's no problem. You couldn't have known."

Regina let out a slow yawn then, mouth wide, her ring-clad hand coming up to meet with her mouth.

Robin looked to Regina, a smirk overtaking his lips, "Someone's tired. How about we go rest in our room, hmm?"

"I'm fine. Not tired at all," Regina yawned once more.

"I think the baby would say otherwise. You both went through hell today. You need rest."

Robin pressed a kiss to Regina's cheek. Regina conceded, grabbing Robin's hand and letting him guide her out of the booth.

Regina turned to Rae then, a smile plastered on her face, "It was very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Rae smiled.

It was when two soulmates were about to leave the diner, that Regina walked over to Henry, and Robin towards Emma and Merlin to speak with them about Zelena, to find the redhead before the day came to an end.

"Henry. Robin and I are going to head back to the castle. In a few hours, will you take Roland back, and Rae as well?" Regina jutted a chin out towards Rae, who was now sitting in the booth alone.

"Who's that?" Henry questioned.

"Robin's sister," Regina answered her son, in a quick exhale. A smile painted across her lips.

"Since when?" Henry eyes widened in curiosity.

"Since a few minutes ago it would seem. I was just introduced to her. Maybe you should go introduce yourself? Spark up some conversation? She'll probably really love it - she doesn't know many people here."

Henry helpfully obliged nodding at his mother, and pressing a hand to Roland's back, guiding him towards his Aunt. Regina eyes followed the two boys, as they came to sit opposite the young woman. Henry smiled at the young woman as he extended a hand towards her in a greeting, which Rae quickly took with a smile.

Regina smiled. _Always the gentlemen._

The brunette's thoughts ceased as she felt the grip of Robin's calloused fingers around her hand. With one last glance at her boys, Regina turned to leave smiling, Robin guiding her outside Granny's with the simple tug of her hand towards the castle made of stone.

.

.

.

The afternoon sun shone through the bed chamber's windows and onto Regina's silk pajama top as she laid underneath the covers of her and Robin's bed, Robin's arm wrapped around her torso, a protective hand on her flat abdomen, his legs intertwined with her's as he spooned her from behind peppering the nape of her neck with kisses.

"I'm hoping she has your eyes," Robin voiced from behind Regina.

"Mhmm?"

Robin could hear the smile in his lover's voice. Regina rubbed a soothing hand up and down down Robin's forearm. "And why's that?"

"You, Regina Mills, feel things deeply. Happiness. Love. Pride. Passion. Your feelings are the paint and your eyes are like blank canvases. I look at you for just a moment, and am taken back to the first time we met. The first thing I noticed about you were your eyes, you know. Their beauty, their constant elegance as they trailed across a room. I want our daughter to have that same elegance and beauty. Well, she is your daughter so she is sure to have both the beauty and the brains."

Robin ran his fingers through Regina's brown locks, "And your hair. I can't forget the hair." Regina could feel Robin's low chuckle as it vibrated from his chest and into her back.

Regina smiled.

Slowly, she turned to face Robin, entwining the fingers of her left hand with his, placing their clasped hands on her stomach and setting a hand atop his bare chest.

"Well I hope she has your dimples," Regina couldn't help the smile that broke out onto her face.

"You like the dimples, hm?"

Regina smiled and pressed her lips to Robin's with a _mhm_ before she pulled back, feeling as if a wave of anguish washed over the two of them. Regina looked into her soulmate's ocean blue eyes.

They looked serious.

"What's wrong?"

The white of Robin's eyes became irritated with the onset of tears, the blue of his eyes depicting an ocean of sorrow. "I thought I was going to lose the both today."

Regina skimmed a hand over Robin's cheek. "But you didn't." Hearing the emotion in Robin's voice made her own eyes swim with tears and her throat constrict with the feelings of concern and dread as her mind brought her back to hours earlier.

"But I could've. And it would've been all of my fault," A lone tear trailed down his cheek. Regina wiped it away with her thumb.

"Don't you _ever_ say that again. That would not have been your fault-"

"But it would have been! I was the one who slept with Zelena."

" _Robin_."

"I was the one who couldn't even tell the difference between the love of my past and your sister!"

" _Robin_."

Regina voice was stern as she grabbed Robin's wrists in her grip, anchoring him to reality.

"What Zelena did to you was _not_ your fault. She manipulated you, and deceived you. She masqueraded as your wife for God sakes! You could never have known. Zelena took advantage of you, Robin. And _that_ was not your fault."

Regina's eyes were now rimmed with red, as her brown eyes swam with the emotions of empathy and anger at her sister for what she did to the love of her life.

"Okay?" Regina's voice broke.

Robin nodded in earnest as he enveloped Regina in a hug, laying a head on Regina's shoulder, one hand pressing against the small of her back to bring her closer to him. It was in a matter of seconds that Regina froze underneath Robin's touch, her heart dropping to her stomach.

Robin quickly pulled back to stare into his lover's eyes. They were wide and clouded with alarm.

"What is it? What's wrong? Is it the baby?"

Regina shook her head profusely letting her next words out in a quick breath.

" _Where's Zelena_?"

Robin replied, "I'm not sure. But-"

"Robin, how do you not know where she is?! She has her magic back! Who knows what she could do to us or our child! She is carrying your child, Robin! What if she went back to Oz?"

Regina began hyperventilating.

"Hey, hey, hey. Everything's fine. Regina breathe. Deep breaths. I sent Emma and Merlin to go find her."

Regina went to speak again, but Robin _quieted_ her with a warning glare. " _Breathe_."

Regina rolled her eyes, going back to her breathing.

"Emma's job is finding people. You told me as much when we first met. And she is receiving aid from the Most Powerful Sorcerer in all the Realms."

Regina threw Robin a questioning look. _But Emma? What if she uses her dark magic?_

"I can see the questioning look in your eyes, love. I asked Merlin to keep an eye on her. Emma is not going to use her dark magic."

Robin grabbed Regina's hands in his, then. "If anyone can find Zelena it's Emma. She will find Zelena, and tomorrow we will place the cuff on her wrist," Robin fingers trailed along her wrist where the leather cuff had just been placed hours ago; Merlin had taken it off with his magic. "We will reforge Excalibur and the dagger and extract the darkness from Emma once and for all, alright?"

Regina's breathing was now normal - steady and regular. "Alright," she breathed in an exhale.

Robin smoothed her brown hair back, placing a kiss on her lips accompanied by an _I love you_.

"I love you too."

Regina turned, her back facing her lover as he spooned her from behind, his arm protectively hung over her torso, a protective hand placed on his fiancés abdomen.

The bed's covers were thrown over Regina's face by her own hand, attempting to block out the bright light of the sun from her eyes. In a matter of seconds Robin heard her breathing normalize and finally let himself succumb to a deep sleep.

 **A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading my story! I'm astonished at how popular this story has gotten in the time it's been up. Can't thank you guys enough! Please comment what you think about this story/chapter, and don't forget to follow and favorite me if you want to get notified for anything!**

 **Get ready for some angst next chapter, too. There will be lots. (Sorry? haha).**

 **Also, I wanted to say: I will be changing the name of this story to "Twist of Fate". I felt like "The Baby" was too vague a title, and was also very telling for what was to come in the story. I like this one more, and hopefully by the end of this story, you all will too :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Rating: M**

 **Disclaimer: Chapter includes mentions of general rape, marital rape, child rape, as well graphic descriptions of murder (blood included).**

It was for a few moments, silent.

No noises sounded in the bedchamber save the deep normalized breathing of Regina and her lover, the chirp of the crickets outside, and the occasional large intake of breath from Robin as he moved his arm towards him, bringing Regina closer to him in his sleep. Until the low murmur of a whisper sounded in the bedchamber, along with the dull squeak of the bedchamber's wooden door as it opened slightly.

"Robin"

The door was wide open his time, the whispers louder as a nudge came to what the figure thought to be Robin's leg.

" _Robin_ "

Regina felt a slight nudge at her leg. Her eyes opened slightly. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Another whisper, " _Robin."_

Regina's gaze shifted to the origin of the noise at the foot of her and Robin's bed. The moonlight bathing the room in its glow illuminated the face of the person talking.

"Henry? What are you doing up? What's wrong?" Regina let out a low concerned groggy whisper in her son's direction.

"Everything's fine. Rae wants to talk to Robin. She asked me if I could come get him." Henry's eyes moved to Robin's sleeping form.

"Okay. Go wait outside a minute. I'll get him up."

Henry nodded, stepping back and outside of the bed chamber, closing the door silently behind him.

Regina turned in Robin's protective grip, smoothing a hand over Robin's chest as she peppered him with kisses. Across his chest, on his cheeks, onto his lips.

Robin smiled as his eyelids stayed closed, answering Regina with a deep hoarse and groggy voice.

"That is a remarkable way to be woken. Perhaps we could try it more often?"

Regina set a hand on Robin's cheek, trailing her thumb over Robin's cheekbone, smiling sadly.

"Rae wants to talk to you."

Robin's eyelids quickly opened to reveal his ocean eyes, now filled with concern.

"Is she alright?"

"No idea. Henry just came in here asking for you, saying that she wanted to speak with you."

"Okay."

With a quick kiss to Regina's lips, Robin turned from Regina to sit on the mattress, his legs hung over the side. He quickly bent down to gather his shirt he was wearing earlier that day in his hands, and threw it on in one quick motion, and found his pants, snaking them up and over his boxer briefs before he stood to button them.

"He's outside, yes? Henry?"

"I assume so. I told him to wait there."

Robin nodded as he walked towards the wooden door.

"Go back to sleep. I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

"Okay," Regina nodded.

She layed back down, facing what would've been Robin, her head hitting the pillow softly. Smiling, she inhaled the lingering scents of forest and soap in Robin's pillow as she surrendered herself to sleep once more.

.

.

.

Robin stepped outside his room to see Henry leaning against the stone wall adjacent to the door, the firelight of the torches lining the walls lighting the expanse of the hall itself, along with the face of the boy before him.

Robin walked toward his soon-to-be stepson, concern clouding his blue eyes. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

"She seems to be fine. She's just wants to talk, I guess?" Henry jutted his chin towards Rae leaning against the stone wall opposite them - sitting, hidden in the shadows.

Robin put a quick hand to Henry's shoulder throwing a thankful look his way. "Go get some sleep. I'll talk to her. Roland's okay?"

Henry gave Robin a nod. "Perfectly fine."

"Thank you"

"No problem"

Henry smiled as he walked out of the hall and into his room, throwing Rae a small smile as he walked past her. Rae returned the smile with one of her own as the boy passed her.

As soon as Henry was out of earshot, Robin voiced a low exhale as he came to lean against the stone wall at his sister's side. "So I heard you wanted to speak with me"

"I did - I do. I wanted to tell you about where I've been all this time. What I've been doing," Rae's voice trembled with the onset of tears.

Robin's gaze swept from the firelight to his sister's cobalt blue eyes as she began to speak. "For the first five years after you had left, Mother taught me how to manage the house. Cook food, tend to the vegetables in the garden, fetch the water from the river. About a year later, I came home one day from fetching water from the river to find-" Rae inhaled a shaky breath, "-Mother on the floor. She was unconscious, barely breathing-"

Robin's eyes widened in horror. "Grace. You were only twelve."

Rae felt the warmth of her own tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She wouldn't let herself cry. She had to get through the story. She had to tell him everything.

"After Mother died, I was by myself. By then King Arthur was still sending money and food to our house - including a horse for transportation. I took care of myself for that year. Until I heard a villager speak of a man in King Arthur's army who was trying to flee with a woman he had met on one of his expeditions to do his bidding. They called the man "Robin Hood"."

Rae looked into her brother's blue eyes. "The villager said that Arthur was displeased by your infatuation with her and order his most loyal men to-"

"Kidnap her on sight," Robin finished.

Rae spoke once more. "When I heard this, I dropped everything I was doing to come look for you," Rae sighed. "But, luck wasn't on my side. I rode through villages on horseback asking if anyone knew where you were. They didn't - or they didn't want to disclose that information. The point is, I knew I had to help you. I passed a family from Camelot walking in the woods that same night. I asked the same question that I asked everyone else. "Have you seen this man? Do you know someone that can help me find him?". One boy - a few years older than I was; he said he knew of someone who could help me."

Rae paused, then let out a long sigh.

Robin held his sister's hand in his. "Who? Who did he send you to?"

"He said there was a Queen - a sorceress in another kingdom."

Rae swallowed thickly looking to Robin then. Cobalt on Blue-black. "Regina."

Robin voiced an inaudible confused gasp, his hand going slack around his sister's. "Regina?"

Rae nodded solemnly.

"I arrived at her castle - had to sneak in because of her guards. The minute I stepped foot inside her castle… I heard the screams."

Robin's brows furrowed in confusion. " _Screams_?"

"Bloodcurdling screams," Rae shuddered at the memory.

"More like shrieking - the words "stop" and "no" over and over again. I went into the room, a-and there was blood - on her arms, on her sheets, pooling in her hands. She had been clawing at her arms, her palms filling with drops of blood, she was having a nightmare. I think she was trying to get someone away from her."

Rae looked to the fire lit torch opposite her, its yellow and orange hues shining in her eyes. Robin felt as if his heart was about to beat out of his chest. His throat was constricted with dread. His eyes never moved from his sister's blue one's which depicted the feeling of horror.

"Rae… whose screams were those?" Robin asked, although he knew exactly who, and that felt like a dagger in his gut. Rae's eyes found her brother's then. Her eyes were lined with red, irritated at the edges with the onset of tears.

"Regina's."

Robin's heart stopped beating in his chest at the sound of his lover's' name. His eyes went wide. His head turned towards his and Regina's bedchamber. How come she never told him?

Robin looked back to his sister as she continued explaining.

"As I was standing by her door, one of her black knights found me, dragged me away from her bedchamber." A few tears slipped from Rae's eyes and slipped down her cheeks. "H-he pinned me against the stone wall next to Regina's bedchamber, ripped his head piece off. His eyes were filled with…with.. _lust_."

Robin's hands shook in a mix of nervousness and anger as the full impact of Rae's words finally hit him.

"He said that "he would have fun with me". He was obviously drunk, I could smell it on his breath," Rae sniffled, "I tried to move from his grasp, but he was too strong - I couldn't move. So I started screaming. The knight ripped his belt off," Rae swallowed thickly, "threw it onto the marble and let his pants fall to his knees."

Rae looked to the floor beneath her, looking at her reflection through the black reflective glass beneath her. "But I wasn't stupid. I knew exactly what he wanted to do to me. What he would've done to me had Regina not interfered."

Robin's ocean eyes widened in question. "Regina"

Rae's gaze flicked from her brother, to the torch before her. "The minute I started screaming her screams stopped. As the knight had me pinned to the stone, I saw what I thought to be a sort of darkness come from Regina's room - I thought it was smoke at that time. But it had been magic. In a matter of seconds a ball of fire came to hurl itself towards the knight, burning him from the outside in."

Cobalt met Blue-black irises.

"It was Regina's magic - she saved me." Rae gave her brother a hint of a smile. "Afterwards, she led me to what I assumed to be her sitting room. I bandaged her hands, and we… talked. And it was nice. I asked for her help in procuring a powder to make Arthur forget about you so you could run off with Marian."

Robin's eyes widened as he grabbed his sister's hands quickly, about to speak, but Rae cut him off. "Regina gave me the powder, and had me drink a memory potion to make me forget that she was the one to give me the powder - she didn't want her subjects thinking she'd gone soft." Rae looked to Robin's face, covered in shock and confusion. "Robin, I didn't _care_ if I never saw you again. All I cared about was that you were safe and happy."

Rae skimmed a hand over Robin's cheekbone, wiping a trailing tear away.

"And now you have Roland, and Henry, and Regina, and a daughter on the way. I'd wager you couldn't be happier?" Rae smiled.

Robin nodded, as another tear trailed down his cheek as he smiled, and gathered his sister into his protective embrace.

"Thank you," Robin choked out speaking against the tears coating his throat.

"My pleasure."

Robin pulled back then, a concerning look in his eyes. "So where have you been? What did you do afterward?"

Rae looked to the floor beneath her, tears swimming in her eyes. Her gaze shifted to her brother's faze as she sniffled, "Well, after I used the powder on Arthur...he captured me - locked me in his prison. And… I've been there for the last twelve years. And while I was there," Rae swallowed thickly, looking to the floor once more, "Arthur raped me...multiple times. It started when I turned fifteen and has been occurring ever since. Whenever his wife was gone, he used me instead," Rae's lower lip trembled as she choked on a sob.

Robin's eyes widened in horror, his hands tightening into fists at his sides, his muscles flexing underneath his thin tunic. Breathing through his nose only, Robin spoke.

" _He did what?"_

The words ran through Robin's head once more, as if he was reading them off of parchment itself.

 _Arthur raped me. Arthur raped me. Arthur raped me._

Robin stood, bracing himself on the stone as he seethed in anger. Rae stood swiftly, her voice coated with tears.

"Robin, what are you doing?"

" _I'm gonna kill him._ "

"Robin, no! You're better than this. You're above killing! What happened to truthful, righteous, and good!" Rae harshly whispered.

"No, Rae. I killed dozens under Arthur's order! I am _not_ all good, things aren't that simple. I have done _terrible_ things!"

"But that doesn't mean you aren't making up for them now! You are a wonderful father, and Roland is lucky to have you! Henry is lucky to have you, your daughter will be _lucky to have you_! You, Robin Locksley, are an amazing man, and don't let _anyone_ tell you otherwise. Robin. You have to romise me, you won't kill him."

Cobalt met Blue-black.

Robin breathed a slow sigh. "I promise."

Rae grabbed her brother in a quick embrace.

"Where is Arthur?" Rae whispered into her brother's strong chest.

"Nowhere near here. Emma transported him someplace far away from the castle. He won't be here until tomorrow at the earliest, and that is when we will deal with him. Okay?"

Rae nodded into Robin's chest. Robin pulled back from the hug, kissing his sister's hairline.

"Now go get some sleep. I'll come get you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay. Now go to your beautiful fiance. I'll go to Roland. Perhaps - if he wakes up - tell him a story of a man who stole from the rich to give to the poor?" Rae responded with a winked a she set a slender hand to her brother's bicep, squeezing it with love before she disappeared into Roland's room.

Robin smiled. _Oh god how he missed her._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Robin's footfalls echoed like light whispers against the stone of the bedchamber him and Regina shared. He quietly made his way into the room to sit on the edge of their bed, strip himself of his pants and tunic down to his boxer briefs, and gently climb beneath the comforter so as not to wake Regina up. Robin heard the bed squeak as he turned on his side to face the brunette. Robin cringed, eyes closed. He knew Regina was a light sleeper and even the smallest amount of noise or brightness was prone to wake her.

Robin's eyes opened and drifted to Regina's face - angelic in its entirety. She looked so peaceful as she slept. Lines of stress and anguish had virtually disappeared and soft breaths and a soft smile pulled her lips up in their place. Robin's eyes shined with love as his calloused hand slid smoothly from his lover's' side, underneath the silk of Regina's sleep shirt, to the place where their daughter resided, although one could not see the presence of his and Regina's child, and neither could he… not yet, knowing that she was there and _growing_ , that was all that Robin cared about.

It was with a light kiss to Regina's lower abdomen, that Robin began speaking to his daughter, whispering lightly so as not to wake her mother. "Hello, little love. It's your father here. Your mother and I love you very much, and cannot wait for your arrival," Robin coasted his warm palm over Regina's abdomen to stop once more over where his daughter resided, a small smile plastered on his face. "You will definitely be as beautiful as your mother, I can feel it. You'll have her fire and wit as well." Robin let a whisper of a chuckle sound throughout the midnight air. It was with light stroke with his thumb over Regina's stomach that the prophecy regarding his unborn daughter came to mind.

The product of two soulmates who also encompassed true love - was destined to defeat the God of Death.

Their _child_ _-_ their _daughter_ \- was destined to defeat the most unholy being in all the realms. Robin couldn't help bu was going to fight like hell for his family. He was going to dispose of this "God of Death" or die trying. Granted Henry did say that their wasn't any way for Hades to ascend to the Land of the Living, there was always a loophole, a way to surpass all limits and expectations, and find a way to do the one thing that should not be possible.

In his periphery, the archer noticed his lover's eyes flutter and her nose twitch. Robin's gaze shifted from his fiance's abdomen to her face. Her heavy eyelids opened slowly to reveal her beautiful brown orbs taking in the scene before her - Robin's mouth so close to her stomach, whispering loving nothings to their daughter, eyes clouded with love, a small smile bringing his lips up, and his warm protective hand on her abdomen. A small smile brought both sides of Regina's lips upward as she brought her hand underneath her silk night shirt to meet with Robin's on her flat abdomen.

"Talking to the baby I see." He could hear the smile in her voice. Robin could see the moonlight's reflection off of his lover's dark brown orbs. She was truly mesmerizing.

Robin - with his hand still on Regina's abdomen - leant up to place a light kiss on the brunette's lips with an _mhm_. Robin pulled back from the kiss and looked into his soulmate's eyes.

"You know she doesn't even have ears yet, right?" Regina chuckled lightly.

"And how would you know such a thing?" Robin smirked.

"Well.. when I adopted Henry, the development of babies kind of interested me. At that point I knew I couldn't conceive a child of my own, it was just something," Regina exhaled. "Something that I took to heart."

Robin's eyes never left his lover's face.

The two were playing with each other's hands on the smooth skin of the Regina's lower abdomen. Robin's eyes clouded.

"What is it?" Robin's brows furrowed.

"I just never thought I'd have this." Regina gave Robin a watery smile.

"I love you."

Regina brought her free hand to Robin's cheek grazing over his facial hair with her thumb.

"I love you too," Regina's whiskey-colored eyes searched through the oceans in Robin's.

It was silent save the voices of the Queen and her lover, and the chirp of the crickets outside the castle walls.

"But there's something else…" Regina could see through the strong facade that went up over Robin's demeanor the minute she uttered the words.

Robin looked away from Regina's gaze, his eyes closing shut at the thought of what Rae had told him earlier. A lone tear cascaded down Robin's cheek and dropped onto their joined hands. Regina grabbed Robin's chin gently, and guided his chin up to face her.

"Robin..what's wrong? What did Rae say to you?"

Cobalt orbs met whiskey-colored irises. She could always see through his facade, as could he with her. One always knew when the other was hurting with a simple look in the other's eyes, and vise versa. Robin sat up and rested his back against the headboard letting both his hands fall into his lap in defeat.

"She told me why she was gone so long, where she's been."

Regina gave him a questioning look.

Robin's next words came out like pure venom. "She's been with Arthur this whole time."

Regina threw her soulmate a confused look of alarm, "What do you mean?"

Robin looked straight at her then. "When I was in my twenties, I joined King Arthur's army. After a few years serving, word got out that I was attempting to run away with a woman I had met, and fallen in love with - Marian. Arthur didn't condone our love affair and stated that he was going to have her kidnapped if he were to find us both, well "when he found us both" as Arthur put it. It wasn't until today that I found out why he had never found us. It was Rae. She told me that she came to your castle to ask for a powder that would extract memories of me from his mind, so I could run away with Marian. How come you never told me?"

Silence.

Tears glazed over Regina's eyes as her mind took her back to that night. Vivid images of her own blood staining her sheets, Rae's eyes, the glowing purple of the memory potion in her fingered grip before she drank the tasteless potion and all memories of the night immediately vanished from her mind.

"I took a memory potion after she had left with the memory powder. I forgot everything from the night, as did she so word didn't get out that I had helped her. The only way for our memories to come back was if we had skin-to-skin contact. So when she put her hand on top of mine at Granny's-"

"Both your memories returned," Robin finished for her. Regina nodded.

"She said that after she used the powder on Arthur," Robin exhaled slowly, "he imprisoned her in his dungeons underneath his castle."

A quick hand came to meet at Regina's mouth in shock. "She's been there for twelve years?"

Robin nodded solemnly, a lone tear cascading down his cheek. Robin rubbed the heels of his hands onto his eyelids in a mix of frustration and anger, trying his best to keep his tears of rage at bay.

"And..and he-" Robin couldn't get the words out without the muscle of his jaw tightening, as his want to hit something grew stronger.

"Hey," a slender hand made its way to the archer's cheek, guiding his face to hers as she sat up in bed, the side of her shoulder now resting against the headboard as she faced her lover.

"What did he do?"

The words were like a death sentence, Regina knew. They were like the moment before the final blow, the final death wound. Regina was setting herself up for that final blow that would surely make her crack and crumble under the horrific memories of what Leopold had done.

In the back of her mind, the thought resided of what Arthur had done to Rae. Regina could see it in the way the archer's sister stood, in her eyes, and it pained her - it crushed her. The fact that a girl that young had to succumb to the tortures of such a volatile act, such a virtue-taking act, was petrifying. It took Regina a few seconds before she realized she was ultimately referring to herself; how young she was when her virtue was first taken, her purity stolen by the man who deemed it appropriate given the circumstances.

Regina realized how alike both her and Rae were. How similar their cases were in this sort of dreadful incident. They were both young when it had happened - in Regina's case eighteen years of age. Regina couldn't begin to think of when Arthur first took the virtue of his soulmate's sister, wasn't able to think of it without physically shuddering under Robin's warm touch.

Regina broke out of her reverie as Robin cleared his throat and said the three words that caused a damn to break behind her eyes.

"He raped her."

And those three words were the words that caused all the memories of Leopold to come flooding back. Regina felt the warmth behind her eyes that signaled her tears before she felt the tear tracks on her cheeks. She felt the tremble of her lower lip, before she felt the sob in her throat that threatened to crush her to pieces. She felt the warm touch and tight grip of Robin's hand on her wrist before her eyes swam with tears and all she was able to see was the moonlight as it cast itself upon the floor beside their bed. All she was able to feel was the hallucinating, volatile touch of the older man as he pinned her to the large mattress, taking her thrust after thrust, as she sobbed accompanied with screams brought on by sharp stabs of pain.

Her mind brought her to the darkest parts of her life - her mother murdering Daniel, killing her father to enact the Dark Curse, becoming Leopold's wife - before she heard the warm voice that severed the dark tie that brought forth the heinous memories of her past and brought her closer to the light; inching her toward reality with every call of her name from his lips.

" _Regina!_ "

Regina could detect the fear and concern in her lover's voice, as her own eyelids lifted to reveal bloodshot eyes, her eyes devoid of all emotion save fear and sorrow as her body continued to wrack with sobs. The archer had a gentle and protective hand on his fiance's abdomen, and another on her wrist, staring into his lover's eyes searching for any flicker of pain.

He saw none. But he knew something was wrong.

The brunette didn't notice her uneven breathing, nor did she notice her own hand as her fingers curled in on themselves, her nails digging into the milky flesh of her palm drawing out tiny crescents of blood. Robin moved the hand that was wrapped gently around Regina's wrist to her lower back, and moved his other hand to her's as he saw her nails digging into her palms. Robin quickly grabbed her palm and wrapped it in his own, attempting to look into his lover's eyes.

" _Regina._ Are you in any pain? Love _, listen to me._ You _have_ to breathe. This isn't good for the baby. Love, I need you to _breathe_ for me _."_

Regina's empty eyes found her lover's in the night. Robin brought his hand to cup Regina's cheek, as he look into her eyes. "Are you in any pain?"

"Leopold." Regina choked out between her sobs as she looked into the blue of Robin's eyes; fire and rage hidden beneath her tone. "He..he _touched_ me-" Regina's lower lip began to tremble again, as her body shook with silent sobs. The brunette lost all control of herself, falling into her lover's arms as she shook with the weight of what Leopold had done to her.

Robin's eyes widened at Regina's words. His mind brought him back to the stories he'd heard in Camelot of the young Queen, married to a man three times her age. His eyes flashed with anger as he realized.

 _He'd touched me_ , Regina had said. That meant…

Robin's mind brought him back to the three words that caused her to break down in sobs in the first place.

 _He raped her_.

Robin's eyes widened in horror as his muscles flexed, and his jaw set in seething anger. He looked to his fiancé, his eyes sympathetic, the oceans in them now calming, descending to a light blue.

Robin put one hand to the small of her back, and the other underneath her chin, guiding her eyes up to meet his.

Regina choked back another sob as she looked at her fiancé. Bright empathetic eyes, red with the irritation of tears. His jaw set in that thin line she knew meant that he was angry. Brown found Blue as Robin's thumb coasted over the tear tracks that took their place on the brunette's cheeks.

"Regina...did Leopold?.. Did he rape you?"

A few moments of silence before Regina spoke, exhaling slowly with a shaky breath, "Yes."

Robin felt as if he had just been gutted. As if his insides were spilling out in front of him, as if his heart had just been ripped out of his chest by the hand of madness itself and crushed into dust for its remains to fall at his feet - still and lone.

Robin let a tear fall down his cheek as he looked into Regina's dark whiskey eyes.

"How come you never told me?"

Regina swallowed thickly as her dark brown orbs flit again to the beam of moonlight that came in through the large window next to their bed - her eyes empty and devoid of emotion as the abhorrent memories of the nights were Leopold would come into her bedchambers late at night and take what he thought was rightfully his played over and over in her mind.

"Because you would've hated yourself for never being able to stop it. It happened for years Robin. The night I married Leopold was the night-" Regina sucked in a shaky breath as she attempted to speak once more, "Was the night it started," Regina finished. "He claimed that we had to consummate our marriage. I told him no. But he insisted. Climbed on top of me, and ripped my corset laces with his hands as I started to scream. H-he hit me in the face and said if I screamed anymore, he was going to hit me again. When he was finished he put on his robe and," Regina's hands clenched at her sides. "And he left me so that the servants could tend to me."

Robin's brow furrowed. _Servants?_

"Servants? Why would you need servants? You were just going to sleep, were you not?"

Regina looked to her soulmate, her brows furrowed in confusion as to how Robin didn't know what she was talking about, "For the blood."

Robin's eyes widened in horror as the mental image of Regina naked and crying, surrounded by ruffled blood-stained sheets depicted itself in his mind.

Robin brought his hand to meet at his lover's dark locks, as he brought her closer to him, a hand at her lower back. Regina had eventually stopped crying, her sobs had subsided and been replaced with occasional sniffles.

"I'm so sorry, love. As long as I'm alive, nothing will happen to you." Robin put a steady hand to Regina's abdomen, "Or our child."

Regina pulled back and looked into her soulmates ocean blue eyes, tears glistening in her own. Her voice cracked as she spoke through the tears coating her throat.

"But you can't be sure. You don't know what's going to happen. You can't prevent things from happening. Robin - what happened with Leopold - that was _my_ fate. I did what I did. As dark and tragic as it was, I deserved it."

Robin's brows furrowed in a mix of anger and concern. Anger at the world for making her believe that she deserved such things to happen to her as a teenager. Anger at her mother for making her believe that love was weakness, that power was freedom, that it was all you needed in life to feel content.

 _Such bullshit_ , Robin thought.

He mentally cursed Cora Mills' name as he saw the tears that trailed down his lover's cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumb.

"Don't you _dare_ say that again. You didn't deserve to go through that. No woman deserves that. Regina, you may _think_ that you're all dark. But that isn't true at all. No one is all good and no one is all evil. Regina you've come a long way from what you once were before. Love, you are the strongest, most amazing woman I have ever had the privilege of knowing - of loving. You have the most resilient heart, you are the _strongest purveyor of light magic_. That means something. And I may not be able to prevent bad things from happening but I can damn well try, hm?" Robin placed his hand under her chin, guiding her face up to meet his - their lips met each other's in a kiss. Light and sweet.

Robin pulled back with questioning eyes, "Does Snow know?"

Regina's eyes widened instantly as she grabbed her lover's hand tightly.

" _No_. Do not tell anyone else about my past with Leopold, especially Snow. She doesn't need to know of what her father did to me." Regina released her grip on Robin's hand, setting both her hands in her lap, looking up into her lover's ocean eyes.

"She looked up to him, you know? She doesn't need to hear about what he did."

"But-" Robin started, but Regina shot him a warning glare.

"Regina, her father was a horrible man!" Robin whispered harshly.

"I know, Robin!" Regina's voice broke. "But Snow doesn't need to know that. She will always be the young girl that I looked after all those years ago, she doesn't need to know of my past with her father. It will break her. She's _just_ feeling whole again. She has Emma - although she's the Dark One and _we will fix that_ \- and Charming, and Neal, and those idiot dwarves. She's as happy as she can be right now. I don't want that happiness to go away alright? After everything I did to her, she deserves that much."

Robin nodded solemnly not voicing another word.

Regina exhaled, laying on their bed with a huff. "Let's just go to bed, alright? I'm tired. This day has just been...to be honest, too much for me to handle."

Regina turned with her back to Robin as she found his hand and draped it over her side interlocking their fingers as she did so - their hands meeting at the smooth skin of Regina's abdomen underneath her night shirt.

"Of course we can, my love."

Robin leant over his lover and placed a light kiss to her temple, before they both succumbed themselves to sleep, their breaths the only sound that could be heard save the melodic and constant chirps of the crickets outside the stone castle walls.

Robin would make Regina feel safe, and loved. He would not be like Leopold - _never_ be like Leopold. He would be good to both his wife and children - Always and Forever, until his final breath.

.

.

.

It had been hours; everyone was asleep, no sound save the crickets outside the castle's walls, and the occasional hoot of an owl, or howl of a wolf as it bayed at the moon hung in the night sky above. The firelight shone brightly on the archer's sister's face as she snuck through the stone corridors, Her light footfalls like whispers against the reflective marble floors beneath her.

Rae Locksley approached the large wooden door of her brother's bedroom with caution, afraid to wake anyone from their slumber. With a hand to the wood panels before her, Rae inched the door open slowly, breathing a sigh of relief as the door did not sound with the loud squeak of the hinges against wood.

She inched into the room slowly, the moonlight shining into the bedroom, bathing her in its white light. Rae's gaze shifted to her brother's limp form, then to Regina's - Robin had his fiance in his protective grip, a hand held over her stomach.

She smiled.

She was happy for her brother. Glad that he had found love after all this time. That even after his first love's unfortunate death, he was still able to find someone; a soulmate.

Rae's cobalt eyes flicked to the weapon at Robin's side of the bed. His bow and quiver were leaning against the stone wall of the bedchamber. Rae smiled mischievously as her hand came to wrap around the sleek surface of her brother's bow, and her other hand to coast over the thin piece of leather that made as a strap for his quiver.

Rae marveled at the fact that - as she looked at the bow's grainy surface, the thin bow string - it was the bow that her older brother possessed when she was once a child. Rae grabbed the bow and the leather strap of the quiver without causing too much of a ruckus, and made her way towards the wooden door with whispered footfalls against the marbled floor of the stone castle. Rae made her way outside her brother's bedchamber, her hand tightening around her brother's bow, dark thoughts jumbling together in her mind as she started toward two large wooden doors used to exit the castle.

Rae felt for the metal latch to push one of the large doors open, and breathed out a quick sigh of relief as the cold from the latch's metal surface or coursed through her fingertips. Rae pushed the door open slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, her throat constricting with nervousness.

Rae felt her blood pumping underneath her skin as she stepped out into the cold crisp night. Her hand tightened around the thin leather strap of her brother's quiver as she started for the edge of the forest, to wait for the man that made her life a living hell. The only thoughts running through her mind now, were how she was going to relish at the fact that he was to die, and by her doing. She was going to make sure he didn't hurt anyone like he did her ever again.

.

.

.

Arthur's breath scorched his throat with every gasping inhale as he trudged up the steep forest hill towards his stone castle, the moon's bright light guiding a path for him in the dark. Rage passed over his features as his mind brought him to how he got where he was now; countless miles away from his home - exhausted to the point that his legs and the arches of his feet ached.

Emma Swan. The Dark One.

The blonde devil had transported him miles from his own home to some haphazard location in the middle of the forest, with only the sun to guide him back to his castle. The angry king brought a rough hand to rub down over his face in strain and exhaustion as he let a string of expletives spew out of his mouth in vexation. Arthur trembled slightly under his cold metal armor, a chill blanketing itself over him. He had no weapons, save what he claimed to be his wit. He just prayed that he would be there soon. He had been walking for almost nine hours, and he felt as if he wanted to collapse on the forest floor below him - as if he would stumble over his feet and face plant on the packed - autumn leave-scattered - dirt below. But he plowed on. For his kingdom needed to be protected from the fowl unholy beast that the brunette sorceress had led into the heart of his kingdom. He would be damned if he let those pesky "heroes" escape without consequences. Arthur needed to find Zelena, maybe ally with her to rid this realm of that infuriatingly optimistic group.

The bone-tired man looked ahead - over the hill he was now ascending - to see a light. He squinted his eyes attempting to focus on the light itself - depict what it was exactly. Piercing light blue eyes snagged onto the numerous hues that the light possessed. Red. Orange. Yellow.

Arthur's eyes widened in optimism as the light registered in his eyes. Fire. Arthur thought of his castle. What other building had torches of fire lining it's outer walls?

Arthur hurried his steps, the constant crunch of leaves underfoot sounded through the night, mixing with the chirps of the crickets and the hoots of the owls. He started forward as he saw the stonewalls of his castle, the familiar royal crest of the golden lion over red fabric etched onto the flags that sat on either side of the castle's entrance doors.

He was a few feet away from the large red flags, weary on his feet, when he felt a sharp pain at his leg, causing him to collapse onto the firm earth below with a low agonizing hiss of pain. Arthur was on his stomach now, facing the thick green grass that made the vast plains outside the castle. He felt for his injury in the night, feeling a dampness coat his grey leather pants near his right thigh. Arthur brought the same hand to hover near his face.

His dark leather glove was coated in crimson red blood - his own. Arthur cringed as he let out a frustrated breath, attempting to stand just to collapse right back onto his stomach, staring at the thick green grass and dirt underneath him once more.

"Hello, Arthur."

That voice was familiar - soothing yet serious. He could see her piercing blue eyes in his mind at that way she spoke - probably now swimming with a bit of madness and glazed over with tears of anger.

Arthur let out a dry laugh. " _Girl_. How _did_ you get out of your cage? I thought you knew better?"

Rae stepped towards the body of the man that consumed her nightmares, caused her to scream, and wake in cold sweats. To flinch at the finest noise, that lightest touch or aura of an unknown man at her side.

Rae loosened and tightened her grip around the bow's wooden handle once more, trying to keep her anger at bay. As she kneeled next to Arthur's body, her eyes went hard as she took in the sight of the man who had locked her behind bars underneath his castle for twelve years.

"You can't keep me locked away forever, Arthur," Rae bared her teeth as pure seething anger shot from her eyes and into Arthur's limp form on top of the packed earth beneath them.

Arthur scoffed as - with little efforts and hiss of pain - turned onto his back, finding the young woman's bright blue eyes in the darkness that surrounded them.

"Oh, but I think I can. When my guards figure out you've escaped you'll surely be - dead even. This _is_ treason, you know?"

"Oh, your guards won't find me. They're too incompetent to even _begin_ looking. And now that _you're_ out of the picture, they _surely_ won't look. If anything Guinevere will be the ruler of Camelot. God knows she will be a better ruler than you ever were."

Arthur squinted his eyes as his brows furrowed in confusion. _What did she mean "out of the picture"? He_ was the prophesied ruler of Camelot!

His thoughts seized as the point of an arrowhead entered his vision. He could feel a cold metal against his throat, as well as a heavy weight on his chest and stomach . Arthur's eyes registered the scene in front of him and arrow was pointed directly at his throat.

Arthur chuckled dryly, smiling as his eyes swept over Rae's knee, of which dug into his chest as she sat on top of him - her legs straddling his stomach.

"So _this_ how it ends? What a difference! I'd always been the one on top."

Rae fought off a shudder as Arthur said these words. She brought the arrowhead closer to his neck digging it in until a small trail of blood made its way down the side of the man's neck.

Rae spit out her next words like fire. "You move one inch, and you will _bleed_ out. Even one _nick_ to a specific artery and you will die. As you know, I _am_ most content with those turn of events. _I want to make you suffer_ _for what you did to me_."

Arthur swallowed thickly before he spoke, his breathing slow.

"You won't kill me. You're too weak. You are still the girl that I had imprisoned in my dungeons all those years ago. You think this bow-and-arrow-tough-girl facade will work? You are just trying to prove something of yourself."

Rae bared her teeth at the man below her as she spit out her next words like venom.

" _Try me_ , bastard. You are going to die for what you did to me. _You are a monster_. You don't deserve to live. I am stronger than you might think. _Much_ stronger."

Rae brought the metal arrow head deeper into the skin of the King's neck - till crimson liquid started spewing from the wound - and in seconds, his throat was slit open, bright blue eyes wide, staring up at the stars and into the dark night.

Rae stood from her position in front of him, sitting with her back against the log not a few feet away from the fallen King. He gurgled and choked on his own blood, grabbing for his throat as red gore poured and sprayed from his throat and onto his armor and tunic, onto the grass, staining it. Rae wiped what blood she could off of her face using her cloak.

The dark red liquid had also sprayed onto her. Her tunic, her face and chest, her hands, her arms. Everything was sprayed in it.

Rae's mouth turned up in a devilish smile as her ears registered the dull silence of the night save the animals and insects in the night, as Arthur's gurgling and wheezing ended.

Rae looked to the hands that killed the man that lay less than five feet away from her.

They were soaked in the red gore that had spilled from Arthur's neck. Rae's eyes widened as tears pricked at the corners of her vision. She had just murdered the King of Camelot in cold blood. Never in a million years did she think she ever would - or that she ever could. She envisioned that cold cell - the straw that lined its cemented floors, the way the rust flaked off of its cold metal bars, the meals she had been served that didn't even look like food at all but like slop served to the swine in farms.

Rae's gaze flit once more to the body of the man who made her life a living hell. She needed to get rid of it.

 _But how?_

Rae's crystal blue eyes flit to to her brother's quiver, that sat inches from her feet. A hint of a rectangular piece of metal poked out from the arrow-carrier. Curiosity overtook the young woman and her fingers itched for the leather cylinder.

The young woman poured the contents of the quiver onto the grass and packed dirt at her feet - multiple arrows, and a full flask of whiskey.

Rae, the flask in the tight fingered grip of her right hand, unscrewed the lid with her left, and took a whiff of the liquid inside the bottle. Rae's senses tingled as the pungent smell of the alcohol met her nostrils.

Rae's eyes widened as an idea made it's way into her mind. Rae replaced all of the contents of the quiver save the flask, swung it onto her back, grabbed the bow at her side, and dragged Arthur's limp body to the nearest stretch of land, away from civilization, away from the castle and into the thick forest; secluded.

Rae looked to the dagger strapped to her side - she had taken it off of a guard when she was imprisoned in her cell - along with the flask of her brother's whiskey, and searched for a smooth stone on the forest floor. Her eyes sparked with mischief as they laid upon a quite large grey stone.

Rae took a swig out of the flask, swallowing the contents, burning as it slid down her throat, lifting it above Arthur's body as a toast to all of the women he terrorized, before pouring the contents of the flask onto the bloody body of the King that lay before her. Once the flask was empty - the whole of his body drenched in alcohol - Rae stepped back. The sister of the infamous archer grabbed the dagger strapped to her thigh, picked the large grey stone up from the ground and began scraping the metal dagger against the grey stone in her hand. Within seconds, the friction caused sparks to begin flying, of which landed on the bloody, alcohol-soaked body of the fraud of a King before her.

And he burned. Burned like molten jewels, like the stars in the sky above her, like the flames that seemed to ignite behind her eyes every time she had looked at the disgusting man before her, with his dark hair, and his armor, and his crystal blue eyes. He burned like she felt she had, all those years imprisoned in that underground cell. In pure agony after he had finished with her, as she shook with painful sobs.

He burned, and she couldn't be more relieved with the weight it lifted from her shoulders.

.

.

.

The crackling of the fire that engulfed the bastard on the forest floor reverberated off of the skeletal tree trunks - that seemed to look down upon the archer's sister for the crime she had just committed - and around the thick forest, the only sound that registered in the ears of the young woman sitting against the heavy log not a few feet away from the burning man in front of her.

The noise the fire let seep into the dead of the night was immediately replaced with the crackling of dead leaves behind her. Rae shot up grabbing for her brother's bow, knocking it with a metal tipped arrow, and aiming it at the source of the noise. She looked around, trying to identify what had made the noise.

She saw nothing.

The light from the fire burning the late King was Rae's only guiding factor in even getting a glimpse of what had made the noise. Perhaps it was the wind? Maybe an animal scavenging for food in the dead of night? Rae shook the thoughts out of her mind and remained steady, grounded. For she would die herself if anyone saw that she had just murdered the King of Camelot in cold blood.

Rae noticed a glimpse of hues of red and gold as her eyes swept over the thick forest before her. The young woman squinted her eyes attempting to gain more detail on the colors before her.

The crunching of the dead leaves had gotten closer. Rae stepped forward, inching towards the noise with small steps. She never took her eyes off of the spot in between the thick trees of the forest.

Within seconds, Regina Mills emerged from the trees, a hand on her abdomen. Wide eyes met just inches away from a metal arrow tip as Rae heard a gasp, accompanied with the popping and crackling of the fire behind her, before she felt as if she had been frozen to the spot. Her feet glued onto the earth, her arrow knocked and pointed at Regina, still, frozen.

Regina's eyes swept over her soon to be sister in-law, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Oh god, Rae. It's just you." Regina waved a hand, and the freezing spell was reversed, letting Rae disarm herself, lowering her bow and stepping back a bit.

"Oh gods, Regina. Are you alright? I'm so sorry to have frightened you." Rae's face reflected the emotion of guilt.

Regina wrapped her cloak around her tighter, against the cold of the night. "Yes, I'm alright."

"Is Robin with you?" Rae was quick to ask.

"No. He isn't. I've always been a very light sleeper - woke to the light of the fire. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see what it was that caused it. Robin's still sleeping - sleeps like a rock, your brother."

Rae laughed at this.

"Oh I know. As a child I had my fair share of nights where Robin wouldn't wake up to the slightest bit of noise. I completely understand."

Rae moved to sit on the log that lays a few feet away from the burning body of the fallen King.

Regina walked closer to where Rae sat. A hesitant but kind look plastered itself onto her face. "Can I sit?" The brunette wrapped her cloak around her tighter.

Rae pat the spot next to her on the log. "Of course."

Regina obliged, sitting beside the young woman.

The brunette looked into the flames in silence. The brightness of the fire reflecting in her glassy whiskey brown eyes.

"So Robin told me what Arthur did to you." Regina's gaze shifted from the fire to the glassy blue eyes of the young woman sitting next to her. "And I would've done the same - killed the man who did those things to me. In fact I did - hired someone to kill him."

"Does Robin know? What the man did to you?" Rae questioned.

Regina swallowed thickly, nodding in earnest. "I just told him, actually. He's so optimistic; claims that he'll be able to protect me and our child from every ounce of harm that comes our way. But he can't - I know he he can't. This is my destiny - my fate for all my past sins. And I have to live with all of the self-deserved consequences."

"I don't think that's all true, Regina. From what I've can gather, you _have_ changed. You've become better - just as I said you could all those years ago."

Regina turned to face the young woman beside her. "Do you remember the first time we met?"

Rae nodded silently. "How could I forget? You were having a nightmare - clawing at your skin, bleeding - and I tended to your hands and arms; bandaged them before you gave me the powder for Robin."

"Indeed. Do you remember what I told you that night? What I said I thought of you?"

A hint of a soft smile appeared on Rae's face. "You said I was brave. That I reminded you of yourself at that age."

Glassy whiskey brown eyes found cobalt blue irises in the the dark of the night that surrounded them.

"And that's exactly what I think of you now. I didn't know you well - if at all - back then. But what I _do_ know," Regina set a comforting motherly hand on Rae's knee, "is that you have grown into a brave and beautiful young woman."

Rae ducked her head to gaze at her lap and smiled, "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

With a smile and a small squeeze to her knee, Regina pulled back wrapping her robe around her tighter as she stared directly into the flames before her.

Rae's next words resonated deep within Regina - she had felt as she had been punched in the gut. Like her scars from Leopold's infernal torture were opening up once more.

"Did you ever get over the feeling?"

Regina's eyes found Rae's in the darkness, the fire reflecting in the watery pair of whiskey eyes.

Rae continued, "The feeling that around every corner there's a twisted man waiting to do horrible things to us - to women in general?"

Regina eyes flit quickly from Rae's and onto the burning body of the fallen king just a few feet from the two women, shaking her head slowly.

"It never really goes away. I think it's something that we have to live with, Something happened, and I feel that makes us stronger - or maybe it's just me. I think the anger, the pain, it appears when we need it most. In the most unexpected of ways. It pushes us to do the hard things, even when we think we can't. I think we're chosen in this world to do the hard things. That everything happens for a reason. That's fate."

Regina inhaled deeply before she continued, " _But_ , I found a safe haven in Robin," Regina smiled softly, "I know he would never hurt me, and that's all the solace I need. And if I ever relapse back to when those nights with the King first started,I know he will always be there to comfort me with waiting arms. I love him, your brother. I still have no idea what I did to deserve him."

Regina sets a gentle hand over her abdomen then, as she stares into the fire before her, the yellow and orange flames reflecting themselves in her brown orbs.

"Well, judging from the way you are now, I'd say you've clearly changed for the better _."_

"Thank you, Rae," Regina flashed Rae a small smile _. "_ You come talk to me whenever you want, okay? Robin and I will be your safe haven. Don't hesitate to come talk to either of us."

Rae nodded, solemnly before her eyes drifted to her blood-covered hands and the burning body before her.

"What am I to tell Robin? I just _murdered_ the King of Camelot in _cold blood_ ," Rae's lower lip began to tremble. "What happens when the kingdom finds out?" Rae's eyes widened as the realization hit her of what she had just done.

A blood-covered hand came to cover her mouth. Regina grabbed Rae's forearm and faced her towards herself, forcefully but with a gentle hand.

"Hey, hey, hey. Robin will understand. He loves you, Rae. He'll understand."

Rae sniffled and nodded, exhaling, "Okay."

"As for the kingdom, once they realize Arthur has gone without notice, within a certain amount of time, they will call up the next person in line for the throne, and God know's they will be a better King then Arthur was."

Rae chuckled lightly at this.

"Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Regina waved a hand towards Rae, and a billow of purple smoke surrounded her. As it dissipated, Rae realized the blood had been magicked away, that her clothes were just as they had been before she stepped foot out of the stone castle.

Regina, standing from the log, waved another hand over Arthur's body, her magic letting it dissipate in a cloud of a purple smoke. The fire was put out, now there was complete darkness surrounding the two women - the only source of light, the moon hung high in the sky.

Rae turned to Regina and instantly wrapped her arms around the brunette, a shakiness to her voice as she spoke.

"Thank you, Regina."

Regina wrapped her arms around the young woman enveloping her in a tight hug. "You're very welcome."

Rae pulled back to look at Regina's face as she smiled. "I'm glad my brother has you."

Regina flashed Rae a watery smile as she squeezed the young woman's hand, reassuringly.

"Now let's get back, don't want to keep you from your rest, carrying my niece and all," Rae smiled as she locked arms with her soon to be sister in-law, as they both began walking up the dirt trail towards the stone castle in silence.

.

.

.

They had been searching for hours, and still no sign of the irritating red-headed witch within the stone walls of the castle.

Emma turned towards Merlin."We should split up. I'll go down the left corridor, and you go down the right? It's probably best if we cover more ground. Meet up here in about an hour?"

Merlin nodded, agreeing. Emma turned to leave but before she could, she was caught at the arm, and pulled back to face the Sorcerer himself.

"Remember that Zelena has her magic back and you can't use any dark magic. Any could bring you further into the darkness. Even a single dark spell. So just..be careful, alright?"

Emma nodded in earnest. "I'll be careful. Promise."

The blonde turned down the north corridor aligned with torches and tapestries, and that's the last he had seen of her before he turned to head down the opposite corridor, a look of determination masking his features.

.

.

.

Merlin could sense the magic the minute he turned down one of the castle's many stone corridors. He felt the ripple of it's effects underneath his skin, in his blood.

As he walked closer to one of the open doors in the dimly lit hallway, the feeling was only heightened. As he approached the door - cautiously and slowly - he felt it full force. The tendencies of the purveyor, the feeling of the magic itself.

It was _dark_.

It was when he attempted to look inside the room, he received a glimpse of who was in it - Zelena, looking down at a spellbook, her back turned to face him, as well as smell a hint of the powder made from the poppy plant seed, before his mind was taken over with visions of the future. The pictures flew past in a muddled blur. He first saw Zelena, a leather pouch of magical dust in her hands. His gaze moved - she was in a room with Regina. Zelena had opened the pouch, and within seconds, had blown the contents of the pouch onto the brunette before she collapsed onto the carpeted floor below her. _A sleeping curse_.

Merlin's subconscious gaze shifted, and he was observing at events that would seem to take place in two months time. Dark events. He saw Emma with white hair, clad in black leather, walking along the checkered tiled floor of Granny's as the inhabitants of their quaint town littered the floor of the diner, unconscious. Emma had a dreamcatcher in one hand, letting it sink into a smoking cauldron, before purple smoke billowed around her, covering the entirety of Granny's from his prying eyes, the whole of his subconscious going black. Thoughts trying to decipher how Emma would cast coursed through The Sorcerer's brain. _In order to cast the Dark Curse, you need to crush the heart of the person you love the most. Emma would most definitely not kill her son, her parents, or her lover…_

Merlin broke out of his reverie with wide eyes.

Making sure Zelena couldn't see him, he instantly waved a hand, switching the bag of magical dust, to one that looked exactly like the one prior, and had the same effects, but would give Regina her memories back when she woke from the sleeping curse Zelena would eventually put her under. If the vision was any indication, Emma would soon become the Dark One, and Merlin trusted Regina to know the truth when it was all said and done. He knew she was the one Emma trusted the dagger with, knew that she needed her memories in order to help take the darkness out of Emma.

The sorcerer made his way back down the corridor away from the room Zelena resided in and back to his and Emma's rendezvous point.

"Hey. Did you find her?"

Merlin cleared his throat and turned to face the blonde. "Yes, I _was_ able to find her."

Emma's eyes widened, "Well then what are we standing here for?! Did you not hear Robin when he said that she has her magic back? God knows what she could do to Regina and Robin's child - what she _would_ do. Merlin, we _need_ to find her."

Emma started towards the hall Merlin had just come from, before a hand stopped her.

"Emma we can't just barge in there, she will only retaliate which will cause you to use your dark magic, which will only dig you deeper into the darkness. We shall wait till morning, deal with her then. If it makes you feel any better, I will put a protection spell over the castle as well as Robin and Regina's quarters - to make sure Zelena does not set a foot inside their bedchamber, as well as set foot outside of the castle walls. We will find her in the morning. She is of no harm to us, or anyone at the moment, and if she does become a threat, we will deal with her then."

His tone sounded more like an order than a question.

Emma nodded, solemnly. "I'm heading to bed. Granted I can't sleep, I can try. Visit my chambers if anything changes?"

Merlin nodded, and right after Emma left his sight, he had enacted the protection spells in a matter of seconds. His features masked with guilt as the visions of the future replayed in his mind. If he were to tell anyone of those events that were take place the entire future would be changed. And fate had a funny way of twisting itself in the ways it wanted. Things happened for a reason, and if what happened in those visions were to come true eventually…he had to let fate take it's course.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 15

 **Hey guys! I'm so immensely sorry for the long wait, I've had the world's worst writer's block, plus the holidays were busy. Hope you guys enjoy this installment of "Twist of Fate." I'm still astonished by how many people have read this story - and my very first fanfiction at that. Thank you all for reading my story, and for leaving your lovely comments and reviews. They make me smile. Please do not hesitate to comment your reactions! I love feedback! Okay enough of my rambling. Let's get on with it, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: Sexual references, references to miscarriage - Including extensive pain. Minimal uses of explicit language and death.**

 **Chapter Rating: M**

 _4 months later in Camelot…_

The heroic lot had spent the large amount of their days devising a plan to get out of the cursed realm, fawning over the new arrival to the gang - Robin Hood's sister. They had treated her as if she was one of their own - their _family._ Zelena scoffed openly. There were days while they were in that blasted realm, about a month prior, that Zelena had observed Regina. She saw the way her sister's hand had gently come to rest over the small swell of her abdomen, as a smile played at her lips, Robin's lips doing the same, pride and love shining in his eyes.

Envy burned through Zelena like flame.

It had taken the red-headed witch months to procure the correct ingredients without any prying eyes glancing her way. With the disappearance of the King spreading through the kingdom like wildfire, Zelena didn't have much time throughout days to sneak away and gather what she needed to enact this spell as quickly as she hoped she would be able to.

With this bloody cuff strapped onto the redhead's wrist, everything was more difficult to acquire, and the fact that Guinevere had now taken over the late-king's reign over the kingdom; appointing new guards, ordering that new security be put over the kingdom also made it more difficult for Zelena to get to specific ingredients.

But in four months time, the witch had procured each and every ingredient needed - autumn leaves that had been hit with the moon's beams as it reached its zenith, sandalwood, ginger root, and the blood of someone from his past - her.

The room was dark save the beam of moonlight that cascaded through the windowpane and onto the dark stone floor. Zelena crouched to kneel in front of the pile of wood encompassing the stone platform of the bricked fireplace, and within seconds, sparks flew from where the dagger she held scraped quickly against the stone - and onto the pile of dry wood that sat there, igniting the jumble of sticks and twigs underneath the wooden branches. Zelena blew on the assortment of wood, creating embers which soon turned into flame. One by one, she burned each of the ingredients, easily tossing them into the flames. Zelena, soon after, paused and stood, her eyes searching the entirety of the room for a clean dagger - her eyes laid upon a dagger on one of the many shelves that the room obtained.

She walked swiftly toward the shelf, grabbing the dagger and resting it in her right hand as she walked back towards the fire. She let a small grimace overtake her features as she sliced into her left palm. Clenching her bloody palm into a fist, she held it in the air above the open flames, letting droplets of blood fall causing a faint _hiss_ to sound in the witch's ears.

In a matter of seconds, the yellow and orange hues of the fire gave off a billow of smoke, and a face Zelena knew all too well appeared before her, surfacing among the flame.

Zelena was wrapping her bloody hand in clean cloth as she spoke the two words she thought she would never hear herself say again.

"Hello, Hades."

"Zelena." Hades's brow furrowed in confusion as he took in the red-headed, blue eyed witch before him. "Why have you summoned me? - opened this portal?" Hades threw his past lover a look of realization, then. His lips formed into a thin line.

"You want something. Now the question is, what do you want, and what do _I_ get out of it?"

Zelena stared back at the man with icy blue, mischief-filled, eyes.

"Trust me. You aid me in what I plan to accomplish, and you will most definitely reap the benefits."

""Benefits"?" Hades threw Zelena a questioning look as if telling her to continue.

"Now _that_ is disclosed information. I guess you'll just have to trust me."

"And I should trust you with the way we last parted? What _is_ it that you need my help with, exactly?"

Zelena let a wicked smile bring her lips upward. "I need your help enacting a spell."

.

.

.

Regina dreamed.

Dreamed of her unborn daughter, with brown eyes like her mother's and dimples like her father's and brother's. She dreamed of their little girl running on her chubby toddler legs through pine-needle scattered forest floor, a smile on her face as she giggled, a red robin following her every move.

She dreamed of the apple tree now in her backyard. She was holding their newborn daughter under it as she gurgled - those same dimples appearing as they did on Robin and Roland's faces every time they smiled - Robin looking on with a smile as Henry and Roland played catch a few feet away. She dreamed of her daughter aging, from an innocent newborn, to an adorable toddler, to an independent teenager, then to a beautiful young woman in a white wedding dress as her parents gave her away.

 _She's so beautiful._

This was the last thing the brunette thought as a sharp, coiling pain ripped her from her sleep with a pained hiss and a sharp inhale. She briskly sat up in her and Robin's bed, breathing out a fast exhale, eyes trying to adjust to the darkness surrounding her. The brunette placed a fast hand over her slightly curved and growing belly, rubbing soothing circles over where her and Robin's daughter resided.

"Hey, princess. What's going on?- _mmm_." Regina closed her eyes tightly against the sharp pain in her stomach. Now, knifelike as she tried to breathe through the pain until her breaths turned into eventual painful moans. Breathing in and out, she tightened her hands into the silk sheets beneath her, counting each breath. The brunette grit her teeth as she spoke her lover's name in fear and worry, splaying her hand across her rigid abdomen.

" _Robin_." In the darkness, she searched for his arm and grabbed it, the nails of her left hand digging lightly into the skin of his bicep. It was then that she realized she wasn't wearing her engagement ring. She looked around the room - the nightstand, the stone floor, the silk sheets - her brows furrowed in confusion before another sharp pain overtook her, and her brows furrowed as she let out a painful groan through clenched teeth, as she grabbed two fistfuls of silk sheets, once more.

Robin awoke with a start at a sharp prick of pain and Regina's low pain-filled moans, his eyes snapping open wide to reveal alarmed crystal blue eyes. Robin's eyes searched through the darkness, picking out moonlight beams from pitch black. His eyes instantly caught sight of his lover. Cobalt-blue irises passed over the grimace that overtook her face, then to the tight fistfuls of silk sheets that were clenched in her palms. Robin noticed her shoulders go rigid before a scream passed through her lips.

 _The baby._

"Gods, Regina," Robin shot up pulling the covers from both himself and Regina. No blood. Robin's brows knit in confusion as Regina hissed in pain through clenched teeth.

What was happening?

" _Robin_. Something," a pain-filled moan tumbled from her throat, "-Something's wrong with," Regina choked out in a broken gasp as the same pain overtook her body once more. Tears welled in her eyes, "-the baby."

Regina focused on her breathing. In and out, continuously.

"Love, I need get the court physician." Robin's mind went into overdrive. Flashbacks of the Enchanted Forest entered his mind. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought of the same instance when he almost lost his love the same way.

"No! Please don't leave me," Regina's hand gripped Robin's. " _God_ my stomach _-"_ An agonizing scream left Regina's lips as the same pain came; but stronger. As if a knife was driving itself into her lower abdomen. Over and over and over again. This was hell. She'd endured so much pain and suffering in her life. She was resilient. But this...this was _agony_.

Robin placed a gentle hand on Regina's slightly swollen belly, and a comforting hand on her forearm. With a cry she recoiled at his touch, her hips darting backwards.

" _Mmm-_ -my stomach is sensitive to touch. I don't know what's going on, Robin. God I'm so scared." Tears trailed down her cheeks as another painful yelp sounded through tightly clenched teeth before her eyes widened with dread.

"I'm losing her...This is all my fault," Another pained moan, as her eyes shut tight. "This is..this is my karma, for all the terrible things I've done, all the people I murdered."

She never believed she would be this vulnerable - could be this vulnerable, after her past with Snow and David. She was always The Evil Queen; Murderer of many. A woman who didn't give a damn about anyone but herself. She was a woman with no regrets, no guilt, no remorse. She was a monster. Destined to destroy everything she touched.

She shook her head, willing the thoughts to leave her mind.

 _No. No. No._

She was Regina Mills - Mother, Monarch, Survivor. She was resilient and she would overcome anything thrown in her path, she told herself. She would get through this. Both Robin and Regina would. Together.

Robin put a quick hand to Regina's chin, facing her to face him, causing her eyelids to lift, and whiskey brown eyes to find steady, calm blue ones in the darkness that surrounded them.

"Love, I promise you, I will _not_ let that happen. Nothing is happening to our daughter while I'm alive. I _promise_ you that. I'm going to get the court physician, he was a friend of mine back when I was a soldier in Camelot. I'm sure he'll help us. I'll get Snow on my way there so she can stay with you." Robin pressed a quick kiss to Regina's trembling lips before he made to jump out of the bed and onto his feet. It took only a heartbeat before he was frozen to the spot. He collapsed onto the bed, one arm hanging off of the bed as he laid on his stomach, the back of his head facing her.

Whiskey fear-filled eyes looked over to her lover, "Robin? Robin?!" Regina loosened a hand's grip on the bedsheet, vigorously shaking her lover's shoulder. No answer.

" _Robin_." Regina's vision was blurring with tears brought on by fear and pain.

"Robin, come back to me please. I need you," Regina's lips quivered as her voice trembled.

"He can't hear you."

Regina recognized the voice all too well as her gaze shifted towards the noise of the person enveloped within the shadows the moonlight created. A single beam of moonlight shone against the woman's face illuminating her cold icy blue eyes.

 _Zelena._

Regina growled her sister's name through gritted teeth against the crippling pain that came over her as she looked to the front of the bed, where her sister stood, a wicked smile on her face. "What did you do to him?! How did you get in here? Merlin put up a protection spell."

"Help from a friend," the witch's smile now turned to one of satisfaction.

"Now," the redheaded witch nodded towards Robin's body on the bed, "I knocked your archer here out cold so you have no means of aid," Regina looked towards her fiancé. Then to his lips. _Maybe_..

She gritted her teeth and yelled through another sharp pain, like a knife was twisting inside of her.

As if being able to read her mind, the witch continued, "Don't try to wake him. This isn't a sleeping curse sis. So that's entirely useless." Zelena tauntingly swung a small velvet bag in front of her face that had no doubt carried the sleeping powder her sister used on her fiancé.

Regina's quickly gathered more silk into her hands, her knuckles turning white as she gripped them as if they were her lifeline. Tears threatened to fall onto her cheeks as she screamed for help. For _anyone_ , really.

"Help! Snow! David! _Anyone!"_ Her voice breaking in the process.

It was then that Regina thought of Emma. That if she called her three times, she was sure to come to the bedchamber. Sure to help. To stop her sister. To stop this crippling pain.

Regina breathed in another shaky inhale as she let another painful scream pour from her lungs which quickly turned into heavy broken sobs. " _Emma! Emma! Emma!"_

Regina shot daggers at the redhead, and if looks could kill, Zelena would be on the floor dead by now.

"They can't hear you little sis. Not even the Dark One. I put a special spell over this room. Who knew soundproof walls could come in handy for other things besides having it off in the bedroom? You and your thief would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Zelena tossed her sister a wink as a she brought her lips upward in a wicked smile.

Regina's whiskey eyes drifted towards her sister's cuffed wrist. "How?-"

The brunette's words broke off as another sharp pain coiled itself in her abdomen, causing a loud painful moan to rip from the Queen's throat. Regina shut her eyes tightly against the burning pain as she came to rest her elbows on the comforter underneath her. In a matter of seconds, she could see a dim green light through her eyelids. Regina's eyes snapped open, immediately reducing to a squint as the harsh light invaded them. Once the brunette's eyes adapted to the light, she noticed the light was coming from her abdomen.

Emotions of fear and alarm filled widened eyes as they found bright blue orbs in the darkness surrounding them. "What are you doing?!" Regina's hand covered her slightly round bump as sharp pains coursed through her abdomen - one after the other.

" _Stop_!" Tears blurred the brunette's vision as she realized what her sister was doing. Regina screamed through clenched teeth. "Zelena, you're hurting her! I'm _begging_ you to stop. _Please_!"

Reina was never one to beg, but when her daughter's life was on the line, she would do anything. An agonizing scream ripped from her now raw throat, her voice coming out hoarse and scratchy.

"Oh, sis," Zelena smiled nonchalantly. "I told you I would take everything you've ever had."

Regina's body curled in on itself as her side hit the plush comforter. She breathed in and out as each pain came and went. "Zelena, please. From mother to mother, please understand. You don't have to do this." Regina's voice broke as she choked out a gasp.

"Oh but I do."

It was when Regina glanced back up at her sister that her vision started fading in and out. One minute she could see the dreadful redhead - sometimes two of her - other times all she saw was seconds of pure darkness. In only seconds, Zelena's body collapsed onto the stone floor, her own body following suit - her own hand falling limp on top of her stomach, going slack as the waiting darkness pulled them both under.

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The moonlight shone upon the Storybrooke residents donned in the kingdom's attire - they were dispersed on the tiled floor of the diner that took purchase in the middle of the forest. As she crouched on the multi-colored tiled floor, The Dark One's eyes wandered over her family, observing, making sure they had all gotten there safely. Emma's olive green eyes first found her parents amidst the many people that occupied the diner. Her eyes found her mother's limp body - she was holding Neal protectively in her arms. The blonde's eyes then drifted to her father's face, then her son, then to the dwarfs, Roland, Robin's sister - Rae, Emma reminded herself - Belle, and Granny. Pine green eyes finally landed on Regina - who wore a short red, night dress, and Robin - dressed in a thin tunic and brown sleeping pants.

Emma looked closer at her brunette friend - her eyes were closed with a hand lying limp on her stomach…. That was flat. Emma's eyes widened in alarm. There was no bump that Regina possessed just hours before. It was as if the baby hadn't existed.

Emma's eyes searched for the one person who could be responsible for this. Her eyes found the redhead's limp form, splayed across the cold diner diner floor, faced away from the blonde on her side.

The Dark One stood swiftly and turned towards the Sorcerer who took purchase in the middle of the diner, standing, his posture rigid.

Merlin was not scared nor did he fear the end. He had lived for years - centuries at that. He needed to help Emma, and her family. He had to help them get back to Storybrooke. For if they didn't leave, Robin's sister would most definitely be killed for committing treason against the kingdom of Camelot. So they had to flee - Emma, and the others.

Emma pointed towards the red headed witch as she spoke her next words like fire.

"What did that _witch_ do to Regina?"

Silence greeted Emma's words and Merlin's solemn face greeted her olive eyes. His eyes held a look of apprehension; of worry.

"Merlin?"

Emma walked closer to the sorcerer.

"Merlin, _What did she do_?"

Merlin cleared his throat as he began to speak. "Emma, if I tell you, you have to promise me that you will follow through with this plan. You will not tell them anything of what has happened in this realm. It will have dire consequences. With the dreamcatcher already in the cauldron their memories are extracted and cannot be given back by anyone's hand but your own. You may tell them what has happened when the time is right - Give them back their memories. Now we have to hurry, we don't have much time; you will be able to crush my heart to enact the curse because Nimue is a part of you now-"

"-What "time"? Merlin you aren't making any sense."

"You will know when the time is right, Savior."

It was then that Merlin ripped his own heart from his chest, a look of pain masking his features. He gently pressed the glowing organ into the hands of the blonde, eyes of determination flicking up to olive green irises.

 _Crush it_.

This was the dark deed that would officially transfer her to the darkness. This was the deed that had to be done for the good of her family.

With a quick wave of Emma's slender hand, the cauldron appeared before the two magic-wielders, smoking and glowing with magic. Before the blonde could crush the heart of the Sorcerer, he told Emma of what the redhead had done to Regina, saddened eyes boring into the blonde opposite of him.

Emma's eyes widened at his words before she crushed the glowing organ in her palm, letting it's dust fall into the glowing cauldron.

It was with the thud of Merlin's body against the tiled floor, and the smoke that engulfed them, that darkness claimed the group, taking them into its waiting arms and back to where they belonged.

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" _Emma_!"

The very moment Robin's yell reached Emma's ears as she sat downstairs in Regina's pristine kitchen - well as clean as it could be with the faded red wine stain on the kitchen wall - the blonde's eyes widened. She waved a quick hand in front of her, and within seconds was immediately transported to the mayor's guest room in a large billow of grey smoke.

Worrisome pine green eyes immediately drifted to the brunette on the bed. Regina's eyes were still closed, but the grimace that overtook the brunette's face along with the faint whimpers that sounded around the room depicted everything Emma had to know. Regina was in pain.

 _But that's impossible_. Emma glanced quickly at the sudden shift of her brunette friend's hand from the right side of the bed to her abdomen, pressing her hand so hard into her stomach her knuckles turned white.

" _Robin_ …Something's..." Regina let out in a low hiss of pain as her eyebrows furrowed. Robin quickly knelt beside the bed then, taking Regina's free hand in his, gripping it as if it were a lifeline. A slender hand in between two calloused ones.

Robin looked to the blonde at the end of the bed with pleading and bewildered eyes. If Emma could do something to stop this, he was going to find out what it was.

"She shouldn't be able to speak. She's under a sleeping curse, is she not!?"

It was when Emma started to reply that her screams started, piercing the air.

Cries of pain from the brunette that had taken purchase on the bed had everyone's eyes widening in worry and confusion. Especially Robin.

Robin screamed to the blonde. "Emma, what the _bloody hell_ is happening?!"

Emma stuttered, "I…"

Regina's pained sobs drowned out Emma's next words. She looked to Zelena, bound to the wooden chair, accompanied by a look of utter confusion that was plastered on her face. Emma's hand immediately came to wave beside her to transport the redhead into the family room - chair, ropes and all.

Robin's yell over Regina's agonizing screams and broken sobs broke her out of her reverie, "Emma! Tell me what to do!"

Emma blinked. Once. Twice. Three times before she was brought back to the scene before her. The blonde immediately lifted a hand over Regina, the cuff on her wrist vanishing in a cloud of grey smoke.

The minute the cuff was off, Emma spoke.

"Kiss her."

As soon as Robin heard the words, he leant over his lover, placing both hands on either of his lover's cheeks as he closed his eyes, and hushed her screams with a deep kiss to her lips. The minute his lips met her's, a faint light shot from between them and traveled through the room and throughout each corridor of the mayor's mansion.

 _True loves kiss_.

As a broken gasp sounded throughout the room, Robin's eyes opened to meet those of dark brown, wide and filled entirely with shock. Regina's voice was filled with anguish as she breathed her lover's name in a quick exhale.

"Robin?"

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Quick, labored breathing filled the expanse of the guest room inside the mayor's great white mansion. The brunette sat up, bloodshot eyes wide, the moonlight glinting off of her tear-stained cheeks. Robin's cobalt blue eyes bore into his lover's whiskey irises. He placed a hand on her cheek, passing a calloused thumb over her cheekbone. It was as if they were the only two in that room. They didn't notice their friends standing around the bed. Nor did they notice their widened eyes as they passed over the blonde to land on the couple that took purchase on the bed.

"It's okay, love. I'm here. I'm here. You're safe."

" _The baby_. _The baby_. _The baby_ … " Regina choked out through fast breaths. A slender hand went to squeeze Robin's wrist, begging him through touch to understand what she meant. But she knew he wouldn't. She was the only one who had her memories back except for Emma and Zelena.

With confusion passing over his features, and his brows furrowing, Robin spoke, "Love, she's fine. You put a protection spell on the hospital room, remember?"

" _No_ ," Regina swallowed thickly. She was hyperventilating as tears of anger and sorrow gathered in her eyes. Regina cursed herself at how vulnerable she was making herself. No one ever saw her cry except for Robin- she never let them. Until now.

Wide whiskey bloodshot eyes filled with anguish as the memories ran through the brunette's mind one by one.

Regina squeezed Robin's hands tight. " _Where's_ _Zelena_?" The brunette scrambled out of the bed. She needed to get downstairs. She needed to kill that bitch for what she did to her daughter. Regina's feet hit the soft carpet simultaneously as she stood from the bed. She waved a hand over her feet to switch into her shoes, before walking forward. In only seconds did she feel a hard force stopping her from going any farther. She glanced up in confusion to look into the olive green eyes of The Dark One before her. The brunette attempted to go forward once more. She was instantly pushed back by what seemed to be a magical barrier, stopping her.

Regina beat her hands against the barricade. "Swan! Stop this right now or so help me!"

"Regina, think this through."

""Think this through""?! Emma you know _exactly_ what she did to me in Camelot. What she did to my child." The brunette was screaming now, her voice hoarse and coated with tears. "And you did _nothing_ to stop it! You are _The Dark One_ for God sake! What happened to her happened because of you!" Tears now glistened in the brunette's whiskey eyes.

In a motion of shock at her friend's words, the blonde took down the barrier, in turn letting Regina free to charge downstairs.

In the back of her mind she heard the yell of her name from her lover's lips.

The brunette's blood flowed through her veins like wildfire as she seethed with anger for the redheaded witch that sat tied up downstairs. She felt her own blood pounding in her ears. All she saw was red as she bounded down the carpet-clad steps. Her magic was still inadequate from the moment she woke from the sleeping curse, and she didn't want to risk poofing herself anywhere other than her living room. Angry tears welled in her eyes as soon as she saw Zelena - who when noticing her sister, stared at her with bewildered eyes. But before she could say a word, the brunette ran towards the witch and slapped her across the face. Hard. It was as if all of her anger and anguish had bubbled up inside of her in that moment.

" _You."_ Regina shot the word at her sister like fire. The undercurrents of sadness coloring her tone. "You _killed my child._ My _baby_."

Regina brought her own slender hand to reach inside the witch's chest to pull out her glowing heart. Zelena groaned in pain with eyes closed. "And for that you're going to pay."

The brunette was interrupted by the yell of her name. In a matter of seconds, Emma, Snow, David, and Robin appeared downstairs, grey smoke dissipating around them.

As Robin stood, shocked eyes staring at his lover, Snow caught sight of what Regina was about to do. A yell instantly sounded from her lips, "Regina, what the _hell_ are you doing?!" Regina took her hand out of the redhead's chest, leaving her heart where it remained as her whiskey brown eyes came to search over the group.

" _Snow_." Robin held a hand out in warning as he looked towards his soulmate - donned with crazed eyes, and an evil smile. He knew screaming at her was only going to push her to want to kill her sister even more, so he spoke her next few words calmly.

"Regina, this isn't you. We all want her gone, but this isn't you. You're _good_ , Regina. If you do this you'll only be stooping to her level. Think about this before you do anything too drastic."

"Oh, but this _is_ me, isn't it? I'm _The Evil Queen_." Regina's crazed whiskey eyes met the icy blue eyes of her sister before sweeping over the group before her to land on soft cobalt blue irises. She reached for Robin's hands as she began to speak, causing his eyes to flit to hers, and lock with sorrow-filled brown irises. "Please just _trust me_. You don't remember, Robin. You have no idea what she did to me. To _us_. To our daughter. Trust me, she deserves _everything_ she's going to get."

With a final squeeze to Robin's palms, she let go of Robin's hands, speaking her next words ultimately towards her lover. The brunette turned towards the redheaded witch - still bound to the wooden chair - glaring at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I was pregnant in Camelot. Almost four months along before…" A lone tear ran down Regina's cheek, one she wiped away quickly in frustration, "before she _killed_ our baby - our _daughter_ \- in _cold blood_. She wasn't even born yet and she killed her." A shaky hand instinctively went to coast over her abdomen where their daughter had once resided as hot tears trailed down her cheeks.

Robin stuttered. Hesitant. "You... y-you were pregnant? With our child?" His heart broke. Regina's eyes closed tightly as she choked out a reply through a tear-coated throat, "Yes."

Robin's shocked eyes drifted from where they stared at Regina's flat abdomen to land on her face. Wide cobalt-blue eyes bore into whiskey ones.

Cobalt-blue eyes swept across the room to land on olive green ones. "Is that true, Emma?" Robin's eyes searched the blonde's face for any indication of an answer. When Emma couldn't make out a reply, Robin knew Regina was telling the truth.

Regina threw daggers at her sister, her next words low and calm accompanied by a certain undertone of eeriness. "As you said in Camelot, I _am_ The Evil Queen. And as much pain and misery as I caused before, I can do exactly the same to you, _Witch_. _No one_ should know the loss of a child. Whether it's permanent or temporary. When I lost Henry I was a mess - drowning in my own depression. During that missing year without Henry, every _breath_ felt like a death sentence." The brunette edged closer towards her sister, looking upon the witch with dejection in her crazed eyes. "And I'm going to make sure you feel the exact same way. You're going to die for what you've done to this family. For what you've done to my daughter, to me and Robin, for what you've done to Snow and David. _You will pay_. So don't bother trying to get yourself out of the mess you've only brought upon yourself."

Regina brought a hand up to Zelena's throat, choking her, dark magic emanating from her fingers in purple waves. Zelena's face turned red as she coughed and sputtered.

Zelena, with as much a laugh as she could muster, spoke through a constricted throat. "You won't kill me. You've gone too soft, Regina. _You're weak_."

"Try me," Regina spewed out like fire, as she brought her own slender hand to reach inside the witch's chest to pull out her heart. The witch groaned in pain once again. The glowing organ now beat in the brunette's palm, the red glow shining upon her face, illuminating the devilish smile that had spread across it as her sister groaned and wheezed in pain. Regina recognized the weight of her sister's heart in her palm and squeezed tightly. Her sister's groan of pain sounded in the back of her mind as she saw red.

Between wheezes the redhead choked out two words through a hoarse breath that made Robin's world stop.

"She's… alive."

"What?" Robin pressed her on.

"Your daughter. She-"

Regina squeezed the glowing organ tighter in her palm. The redhead gave off a loud shriek of agony.

" _No! She. Is. Dead_ ," Regina turned towards her friends and lover with eyes that welled with tears, "Don't you see what this is? She's trying to deceive us so we don't kill her." She turned back towards her sister, then. "Well you know what? That's not going to work on me, _Sis_. My daughter is _dead_ because of you, and you're going to pay the consequences. I hope you rot in hell. Say hello to Mother for me, won't you?"

It was what seemed like a heartbeat later that Zelena's heart's remains were running through her fingers and onto the pristine carpet below her.

Silence in the room grew as the realization came over them all. Zelena was dead.

Regina seemed to come out of her current state, her eyes looking to the floor blankly. The cold, crazed, vengeful eyes were quickly replaced with tearful eyes in a matter of seconds as she came to realize what she had just done. Robin, after giving a solemn nod towards the group to give him and Regina a few minutes alone, wrapped his arms tightly around his lover as she leant against him pressing a hand to her mouth as shock blanketed itself over her. "I…I killed her. The mother of my niece, I _killed_ her." Regina wrapped a hand tightly around Robin's forearm that held her up.

"I killed the mother of your child..You must despise me.."

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." Robin quickly turned Regina around in his arms, bringing a hand up to tilt her face up so she was staring into his eyes. "I could never _ever_ hate you. And although my daughter and Zelena are bound by blood, Zelena was not her mother. A true mother is someone who puts the life of her child before her own, who loves her child unconditionally. Who doesn't use their child as a _pawn_ in their own selfish games. Regina _you_ are a mother. Don't _ever_ forget that." Robin eyes only held love for the woman who stood opposite of him.

Regina nodded as tears brimmed at her eyes.

Regina first noticed the slight flex of Robin's jaw in seething anger, then the icy coldness of his eyes before he spoke. "If what you say is true, and Zelena _did_ kill our child, she deserved to die. If you didn't kill her, I would've done it myself."

As quick as she saw his internal anger surface through his facial features, it vanished, and was replaced with soft eyes and a sad smile as he looked to the slumped body of the dead witch still bound to the wooden chair. "You are a better mother than Zelena could've ever been."

Robin gave a quick, light squeeze to Regina's hand in comfort. It was in her peripheral vision that the brunette noticed a blonde and black blur walk into the room. Emma.

Regina turned towards her with eyes of pure agony as she took the blonde in - from her black leather outfit, to her bleach blonde hair wrapped tightly in a mess-free bun at the back of her head, to the earnest look in her olive green eyes.

"What?" Regina snapped at Emma her voice breaking in the process, "come to twist the knife even deeper?"

Silence. Emma stood, frozen to the spot, her inner turmoil eating her alive.

"What, Swan! Spit it out!" Regina was getting irritated. Tears brimmed in her whiskey eyes threatening to flow over onto her red splotchy cheeks.

Emma breathed out a heavy sigh as she looked between the two lovers, apprehensive eyes flitting between them.

"Zelena was telling the truth."

Robin and Regina's worlds both stopped. Tears streamed down Regina's cheeks then, like hearing it just made the anguish worse. Her daughter was dead, there was no denying it. Why would Emma say otherwise? To make the heartbreak even worse? Regina smoothed a hand over her stomach, feeling for a bump that wasn't there. Feeling for a child that had been taken from her too early. It was as if Emma's words were the final blow that caused her body to shake with sobs.

"Zelena wasn't lying? What do you mean? Where is she? _Where is our daughter_?" Robin's low, strongly accented voice carried itself throughout the room. Although Regina could hear the tears that choked him, his throat constricting with the previous utter feeling of despair. Robin wasn't going to deny it either. Their hearts were breaking.

The blonde looked to her heartbroken friend, empathetic eyes. "Regina, I promise I'm not lying to you. I would never do that to you - definitely not about something like this. Your daughter never died. She was transferred."

 _Transferred?_ Regina's brows knit in confusion. _But the pain_ … Whiskey eyes immediately flitted to apprehensive olive green eyes as confusion clouded her eyes, her brows furrowing as if pressing the blonde on.

"When you were pregnant with your daughter..Regina - that same night we came back to Storybrooke, Zelena came into your room." Regina nodded along in confirmation. "She knocked Robin out and began enacting a spell. This spell was never to kill your daughter, it was to transfer her from inside you and into Zelena herself. She was lying the entire time - she was never pregnant in Camelot-"

"-So what does that mean? And how does Regina remember what happened in Camelot?" Robin's accented voice sounded strongly throughout the silence of the foyer as he questioned the blonde.

Emma looked at Regina then, "The sleeping curse powder was switched in Camelot. The powder that she used on you-"

"Gave me back my memories from Camelot…" Regina finished for the blonde.

Emma nodded before she continued, "Zelena never planned on you getting your memories back, and never planned on Robin being able to wake you up. Your daughter didn't die, and Zelena lied the entire time, which means that that baby in that hospital room right now," Emma pointed in the direction of where the hospital was, "who Zelena claimed to be her's, isn't her's at all. She's _yours_ , Regina."

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Emma's emerald eyes pinned Regina to where she stood on her living room carpet. She was frozen, still processing her friend's words.

 _She's your's_. _She's your's_. _She's your_ 's.

Regina remembered the baby's warm brown eyes - how they had looked exactly like her own - _look_ exactly like her own, she reminded herself - and she still hadn't seen it. The brunette remembered the memories of the past that had made their way into Regina's mind as she pressed her lips to her daughter's forehead just hours earlier.

 _Her daughter_. _Their_ daughter _._

Regina couldn't suppress the small smile that graced her lips. She inhaled quickly as her left hand felt for Robin's right, keeping it in the tight grip of her own.

"We need to see her. Now."

Robin nodded in agreement at hearing his lover's words.

Regina quickly nodded towards her sister body slumped over in the wooden chair, the rope being the only thing that held her up.

"Can you see to it that she's buried before tomorrow morning?"

Emma nodded solemnly in reply as the brunette pulled the archer along with her towards the front door.

"Wait, Regina!" Emma caught up with her friend, putting a hand on her bicep. Regina faced the blonde.

"Meet us in your office when you leave the hospital. I have to go get Henry, and then I'm giving everyone their memories back."

"Well it took you long enough," the brunette retorted with an amused expression. "We'll be there." Regina gave a small nod towards the blonde before she turned to exit the house through the front door Robin had just opened. Regina stood hesitantly in the door frame before giving Robin a quick look to wait outside before turning back towards her friend.

Regina walked closer to the blonde, her voice growing softer, more vulnerable.

Regina let out a slow exhale. "Emma...I'm sorry for being so quick to blame you tonight. I shouldn't have. I'm glad you told me the truth. I'm glad I have someone else I can trust. It's nice to have someone in my corner."

"Of course, I'll always be in your corner. For whatever you need," A small smile graced Emma's lips as she said the words, with a friendly hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Thank you," the brunette threw her friend a grateful look, "And… Robin's sister. _Please_ tell me she made it to Storybrooke." Regina's eyes squinted, cringing, awaiting Emma's answer.

Hopeful emerald green eyes quickly flit to whiskey-colored irises. "Yes, she made it to Storybrooke, I know that for a fact. I just don't know where she is. She was in the Diner when I enacted the Dark Curse, I made sure. Maybe she appeared somewhere else in Storybrooke because she isn't from here? She seems like a smart girl, I'm sure she'll find you and Robin soon enough." Emma gave her friend a small smile before the brunette turned and joined Robin to leave the house.

Robin's hand immediately found the small of her back as he led her outside and towards her black mercedes. As soon as they were outside and near the car, Robin pulled Regina towards him by her waist, looking into her eyes, love apparent in them. Robin couldn't contain the smile that took over the entirety of his face.

"We're going to see our daughter." Robin's voice came out light and vulnerable.

"We're going to see our daughter," A watery smile erupted on Regina's face, as her eyes swam with tears of joy.

She couldn't believe it. A little girl made from both her and her lover. A part of her. A part of Robin. With his dimples, and her eyes. She'd probably have Robin's archery skills as well. Regina couldn't help but think. Would she be skilled with magic? With their daughter being the offspring of true love and soulmates Regina didn't doubt it. Would she gain Regina's mental strength and stubborn attitude when she got into her teenage years? Or Robin's kindness and innate want to help others? Regina's thoughts were broken off with a quick kiss to her lips.

Robin opened the driver's side door, as Regina quickly slipped inside the vehicle, putting the key into the ignition and turning it, starting the engine. As soon as she heard the click of Robin's seat belt to her right, she put the car in reverse, backing out of the driveway, and speeding down Mifflin Street and in the direction of the hospital.

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The strong stench of antiseptic and bright fluorescent lighting invaded Regina's senses the minute both her and Robin entered the hospital. She felt as if her legs couldn't carry her fast enough. Like time was slowing the closer she got to her daughter. She felt the cold metal of the doorjamb before she laid eyes on her daughter - she was silent save a few gurgles as her wide dark brown eyes passed over the ceiling above her in wonder.

 _She's alive_.

A watery smile broke out on Regina's face as she walked closer to her daughter's bassinet, passing the doorframe with Robin's hand in her own. Her whiskey-colored eyes were glued to her daughter's small form in awe as she spoke, squeezing her lover's hand in the process.

"We have a daughter."

The baby cooed at the sound of her mother's voice.

Robin smiled as tears welled in his eyes. "We have a daughter," His voice that had been stripped away of its usual strength and steadiness and replaced with a slight tremble reverberated off of the hospital room walls as he stroked his thumb over Regina's in comfort. The brunette walked carefully towards where her daughter laid peacefully, outstretching a hand towards the baby. Before Regina could lay a hand on her daughter, a small hand grabbed her index finger and brought it close to her small mouth.

The baby cooed once more as a small smile made its way onto her face. This caused a set of dimples to spring onto her tiny cheeks. Regina laughed softly as a single tear fell from her eye and trailed down her cheek.

"She has your dimples," Regina sniffled as she looked at the archer to her right, love in her eyes.

Robin looked towards his daughter, love illuminating his cobalt-blue eyes as he smiled. "Indeed, and she has your beautiful brown eyes." Robin looked into Regina's eyes, then before a hue of light pink entered his periphery. Robin looked to his right to see the nurse who had given his daughter a shot earlier in the night. The nurse looked to Robin, speaking directly to him. Regina quickly wiped her tears away.

"Excuse me, I would just like to inform you that we performed a blood test on the baby, and with her blood type being AB positive, and you and Zelena having an A blood type, the parent's don't match up. Either Ms. Zelena Mills isn't the baby's mother, or you aren't the baby's father."

Regina spoke up then, slowly taking her hand back from her daughter's light grip. Her voice strong and steady. "This baby is _Robin's_." She cleared her throat, her voice more gentle now. "You can check with a DNA test."

"Don't worry. We figured, with your sister's history of deception, we should check the blood of the only other person we knew of which he had sexual relations." The young nurse looked to Regina, her voice apprehensive while holding a subtle amount of positivity. "You."

"Now, Ms. Mills. Your blood type is B positive, and Mr. Hood's is A positive. Which means that this baby is most definitely the both of yours. Although it doesn't seem like you have shown signs of pregnancy. It seems as if Zelena became somewhat of a surrogate if that was the case. With your unfortunate previous history of trouble with conception, and your number of miscarriages in the past, before you came to this land, it seems that that is the only reasoning as to how this came to be. We can perform a DNA test just to be positive if you'd like, but-"

"No." Regina's voice trembled. With watery eyes she looked towards her daughter. "She's mine." Regina cleared her throat before letting out a sharp exhale. "Can she leave the hospital?"

"Yes, she can. You just need to fill out a birth certificate providing the name of the child, the full names of both of her biological parents, and both your signatures."

Robin nodded kindly at the nurse, as she handed him the certificate clipped to a clipboard, along with a pen, before her footsteps grew distant in the couple's ears. She had left the room.

Robin and Regina turned back to their daughter, then. As Robin put the clipboard on the table that took its place at the end of their daughter's bassinet, he wrapped both of his arms around his lover's waist from behind.

"You never told me you couldn't conceive. Or that you had miscarriages. Why?" Robin asked gently. There was an intermix of empathy and sorrow apparent in his voice, Regina could tell in the way she heard his tone drop, and his voice diminish to a low whisper. Regina could feel Robin's breath at her neck as he spoke.

She let out a shaky exhale as she stared at her daughter's angelic face - peaceful, innocent, on the brink of sleep. "It was a long time ago. Snow's father believed that the only reason to have me as a wife was to bare his children - produce a male heir, and he thought Snow and I got along since we were so close in age. She was ten at the time, I was eighteen."

Robin was appalled. He suddenly brought to memory the faint rumors that had spread around Sherwood Forest before he had left for Camelot that the King's young Queen did not have the ability to conceive another heir to the throne.

Robin's time in Arthur's Royal Guard quickly passed across his memory in a vivid moment. He remembered going on a lone mission for Arthur to King Leopold's castle one night, after getting what he had to, he remembered coming close enough to a set of french doors that he could hear an old woman speaking on the other side along with the pained whimpers of what sounded like a young woman.

" _I need to clean you up, Majesty. Let's get you into the tub. I need to clean the blood off of these sheets and your lower extremities. You need herbs for your wounds, child."_

 _The old woman's voice sounded gentle, empathetic._

 _Robin's eyes widened. This woman was hurt, and it seemed badly. He stepped closer towards the closed double doors, not able to leave this woman. He didn't even know who she was, yet he had this intense feeling of dread in his chest as he heard that she was wounded._

" _I-" a sharp, pained intake of breath, "I can't. It hurts too much. The baby-" a pained groan and a sob came from the young woman. Robin's eyes widened as he heard the last words of the young woman before she groaned in pain once more._

 _She'd had a miscarriage._

 _Robin could only assume that the young woman had attempted to stand with the ruffling of the sheets and the young woman's pained groan through what seemed to be clenched teeth._

 _Robin had cringed at this, wishing he could do something to help her. But he knew there was nothing he could do. He shouldn't have even been there. This had been a mission that he was chosen for. He had gotten what he needed, and he needed to leave before Leopold's guards found him. He just hoped that the young woman would find a way to take the pain away. He hoped she wouldn't blame herself for something she couldn't prevent, and prayed that she would never endure pain and sadness like this again._

Robin went over the young woman's voice in his head once more. The way she groaned through clenched teeth, the way she gave a sharp inhale at the sudden stabs of pain that had come over her. This young woman's voice was higher, not yet scarred with all of the darkness it's owner was yet to succumb to. He knew that voice, but a deeper, steadier version of it.

The young woman was Regina, Robin realized.

He was pulled from his reverie as Regina continued, "Each time he would try to get me pregnant against my will, and each time I lost the baby. The first time I wasn't even a month, the latest I was into a pregnancy before I miscarried was exactly 4 months. That's why I got so scared when Zelena put that spell on me. I thought she killed our baby. As for me not being able to conceive, a few years before I cast the curse, my mother came to me claiming that she wanted me to have a child so I could "build a dynasty". I knew she only wanted to use any future child I would've had as a pawn to gain more power, so I drank a potion making me forever barren. In Camelot, I drank the water from Lake Nostos, and the works of the potion were reversed. That's how I was able to carry our daughter for the time I could. Those were some of the best five months I've ever experienced." Regina let her left index finger skim over her daughter's soft cheek as she smiled softly, a soft tear trailing down her cheek.

Regina swiftly wiped her tear away with a quick inhale, as she turned in her lover's arms, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Now," Regina exhaled quickly, "our little princess needs a name. In Camelot we didn't talk about name's much, you just kept saying how you had a gut feeling that our baby was going to be girl. You called it instinct."

Robin smiled. "Well, don't I _always_ have the best instincts?"

Regina rolled her eyes playfully as she smiled. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before she grabbed his hand in her own, turning back to their daughter.

Her lips pressed together in earnest, as her brows furrowed in thought. "She's special, her name should be too."

Robin nodded in agreement, staring at their daughter in thought. _Something special_ …

Eyelids lifted to reveal warm brown eyes as one name - and one name only - entered Regina's mind.

"Sara." A large smile erupted across Regina's face.

"In Camelot, when I was pregnant with her, we always referred to her as "little princess" behind closed doors. The name seems only fitting as it means exactly what she is," Regina ran her thumb over her daughter's cheek, "our little princess."

Robin smiled, love illuminating in his blue eyes. "Sara…I love it. And as a middle name?"

"I was thinking… Grace… after your sister."

Robin's eyebrows furrowed instantly as a certain confusion infused with sadness passed over his features. "How..? How do you know about her? I've never…I've never told, well _anyone_. I haven't seen her in years. _Decades_."

"You were reunited with her in Camelot. She's beautiful, Robin. She has your dimples, but her eyes are lighter than yours. You both have the same kindness, the same selflessness. The same drive to protect those you care about. When Emma enacted the Dark Curse, bringing us all here to Storybrooke, your sister came with us. She's in Storybrooke, Robin." Regina smiled, the smile traveling up towards her eyes.

"She is? Where is she?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm sure she'll find us. It's only been a few days since we've been back from Camelot." Regina put a delicate hand up to cup her lover's cheek. "She'll find us, okay?"

Robin nodded solemnly in reply. "She'll find us." Robin pressed his forehead against his lover's before he pressed a deep kiss to her lips. Regina pulled back with a smile, her eyes instantly meeting Robin's.

Robin wrapped two hands around the brunette's waist, "So… Sarah Grace it is. I love it."

Regina eyes brightened as she spoke, "The real debate is: whose last name will she take?"

Robin looked down at her in earnest, looking into his soulmate's beautiful brown eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, If I do remember correctly, _a certain someone_ proposed to me in Camelot. "

"I proposed to you?" Robin's face held what seemed to be surprise. "But what of your ring? I know myself to be a more traditional man, love.

"Actually... " Regina put a slender hand to her lover's chest, "you proposed to me the night our daughter was conceived."

"Oh did I?" Love shined in his eyes, as a sly grin erupted on his face. "And would you care to tell me what else happened that night, _Mrs. Locksley_?" Robin's face was just inches away from his lover's.

Regina placed a light kiss onto Robin's lips before pulling back, smiling as she whispered, "Not with our daughter in the room. She doesn't need to be hearing about her parent's sex lives. Not this early," Regina chuckled softly.

"Okay," Robin exhaled sharply, " _Please_ tell me I got you a ring; or something that resembles one," Robin scrubbed a hand over his face in nervousness.

Regina laughed softly, at how nervous Robin was becoming. "Don't worry, you did. And it was beautiful. It had a simple, thin silver band, and in the middle a dark red ruby held in place by a small silver crown. You said the color represented my resilience, courage, and the amount of love you had for me, and the crown resembled the fact that I was your Queen."

"But," Regina exhaled swiftly in agitation, "I'm pretty sure Zelena used it to enact the spell she cast on me to transfer Sara from myself to her."

"I'm sure we will find it, love. Surely Rumplestiltskin has it in is shop, yes? You told me once that the most significant objects come over to this realm with curses. That ring is of the utmost significance, I can say that with all of my heart."

Regina nodded with a small smile. Robin kissed her forehead before picking up the clipboard in one swift motion, writing in their daughter's name, and signing his name at the bottom. God, all of this was so surreal. They were parents of this beautiful little girl. Him and Regina had created this little girl. Together.

Robin's thoughts were stopped as Regina turned towards him, talking in a low whisper as not to wake their sleeping daughter. "After I sign, I'm going to give the certificate to the nurse at the front desk. I already installed a carseat into my car with my magic. You just have to walk her outside. I'll meet you at the front entrance doors, okay?"

Robin nodded in understanding. With a quick hand, he handed the clipboard over, and made to pick up the baby. The baby fussed quietly, her face growing a darker shade of pink as she stirred in her father's arms the minute he picked up her up from her bassinet, the slight motion jarring her from sleep.

"Shh..Shh, Your father's got you, sweetheart. Shhh..." Robin swayed back and forth, a gentle hand rubbing up and down her small back, hoping it would help their daughter fall asleep before they had to take her outside.

Shortly after signing the certificate, Regina turned towards Robin - now holding their daughter - and gave their daughter a quick gentle kiss on the head before walking out of the room and towards the front desk.

Each step killed her. All she wanted to do was take her daughter in her arms and never let go. Walking towards the front desk, her eyes never left her daughter, who was now in front of the hospital's entrance doors cuddled into her father's arms as he swayed left and right to help her fall back asleep. After what Zelena did, she didn't want Sara to leave her sight. Even if the witch was dead.

But she trusted Robin. With every fiber of her being she trusted him. With her thoughts and secrets, with their daughter, with their sons, with her life. She trusted him. And she would every day for the rest of her life.


	18. Chapter 18

After walking towards the front of the hospital, and handing the certificate to the nurse on call with a grateful smile, she quickly made her way towards the entrance doors of the hospital. She wasn't able to suppress the excited smile that appeared on her face the minute she took in the sight of Robin holding their little princess swaddled in her fuzzy pink blanket the nurses had wrapped her in after her birth.

The brunette lowered her voice to a whisper as she walked up to Robin, still swaying the baby. "Is she doing okay?"

"Mhm. This little one was definitely ready for the kip," Robin looked to his daughter's squinted eyes, "Do you want to head to the car, love?"

Regina gave a slight nod and an agreeing smile to the man beside her before she walked toward the hospital's exit, Robin following in her continuous clicking footsteps as she walked upon the reflective linoleum floor which stopped as she walked through the doorway and held the door open for Robin. He walked through with a grateful smile plastered on his bearded face. Regina let the door close as her gaze shifted to her car parked a few feet away from them.

They made their way towards the car, the wind whistling around them softly. Regina silently opened the backdoor, putting her hands out toward her daughter, then. "I'm going to get her situated in her car seat. I'm just praying she doesn't wake up."

Robin handed the infant over to her mother; luckily with no complications. In a matter of seconds, Regina had Sara buckled up and swaddled once more in her fuzzy blanket.

"I will never understand how those bloody contraptions work, but of course I am open to learning." Robin chuckled.

Regina snickered, closing the door to her daughter's side before the couple got into the car themselves. Regina couldn't take her eyes off of her daughter. She was beautiful.

"It feels like just yesterday I was doing the same thing with Henry. Swaddling, Changing diapers. God...now he's all grown up, with a _girlfriend_. Where did the time go?"

Her gaze shifted to a settling pair of calm ocean-blue eyes. "Both you and Emma raised him into a mature, smart, and respectable young man. He is the way he is because of the both of you. And remember: It's all about timing, my love. Everything happens for a reason," He leaned in for a kiss, brushing her nose with his.

"It's all about timing." Regina refrained.

She leaned into the kiss, a smile of pure joy lighting up her face as her lips met Robin's. This was all so surreal. She had a child _with_ Robin. Half of her, half of him. With the prophecy of their child defeating Hades still intact, she knew, the minute she looked at that little girl's face - like she looked at all her children's faces - that she would do all she could to protect them.

Even if she died trying.

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They walked through the office doors - Robin carrying their daughter's car seat, Regina holding their daughter protectively in her arms. The minute her carseat was detached from the car she had began crying. The couple agreed that she would feel safest in her mother's comforting arms, and they had been right. She was asleep for now, her little eyes closed, her small chest rising and falling with each breath as she slept silently.

The group began speaking in unison - save Emma and Killian who were talking amongst each other. The group asked questions upon questions. Can they see her? Is the baby Regina's? How is she doing?

Robin cleared his throat forcefully as soon as they walked in - a statement to everyone to quiet down before he spoke.

"This is not Zelena's child, but me and Regina's. Zelena enacted a spell in Camelot which transferred our daughter from her mother and into Zelena, and Zelena gave birth to her."

Hearing the words were like a quick punch to the gut to Regina. She was so glad that her daughter was okay, and plenty grateful for the time spent carrying her, but she had never been given what Zelena had been given. Although Zelena took childbirth as a curse - a painful monstrosity no woman should have to endure - Regina took it as a blessing. It was a true miracle. Being able to physically bring a baby into this world was something Regina wanted to do all her life.

But she guessed Zelena had beat her to it…

Regina's thoughts ceased as Snow walked forward to get a better look at the baby, a look of awe apparent on her face. "Oh Regina, she's beautiful. She looks exactly like her mother, and she has her father's dimples."

The brunette's head lifted, her gaze shifting from her daughter for the first time in minutes to look up at her friend, eyes shining with love for her newborn. "Thank you, Snow." Regina went back to staring at her daughter sleeping peacefully.

"So she's yours, Mom? Congratulations." Henry smiled at his Mother.

Regina smiled brightly at her son. "Thank you, Henry. Maybe you can hold her tomorrow after she's slept a while?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Mom. I'd love to."

"Does the babe have a name?" Killian interjected, his curiosity getting the best of him. His voice sounded to Regina's far right. She was too focused on her daughter to look up towards the pirate.

"We won't give that away so easily," Robin's voice sounded to her left, she could hear the smile in his voice.

Almost a heartbeat later, Snow spoke up. "We should have a coronation ceremony, like David and I had when Neal was first born! Oh that would be wonderful, wouldn't it? I'll host it at my apartment. It'll be so much fun! This baby needs to be traditionally welcomed to her complicated family." The group chuckled at Snow's statement of "complicated family".

Regina head snapped up to look at her step daughter with surprised eyes. "You would do that for me, Snow? After everything I've done?"

"Regina don't be silly. We all love you, _and_ your daughter. We're family, and family always sticks together. You will always be our family." Snow's hand came to rest upon Regina's shoulder, hope apparent in her pine green eyes. "Promise me you'll think about the party?"

Regina nodded, a smile appearing on her face, "I'll think about it." She whispered softly before she cleared her throat, her voice evening out. Steady with a hint of its normal refined tone. "But you all need your memories. We'll talk afterward."

"How exactly is this going to work?" Robin spoke silently, so not to wake his daughter up from her peaceful sleep. He had silently set the carseat on the table as he turned back towards the group, awaiting an answer.

A small smile appeared on Regina's face as she heard Robin's words. He always needed to know what the situation entailed, and what he had to do, and that was one of the reasons she loved him. He was always prepared.

"I will be giving each of you a dreamcatcher. As you look into these dreamcatchers, I want you to the think about the last thing you remember while you were in Camelot, and the rest of your memories will fall into place," she let out a deep exhale. "Because Regina already has her memories, she won't need a dreamcatcher."

The group nodded in reply. Emma walked around the mayor's office, handing everyone a dreamcatcher that they held in front of them upon receiving them.

"I want you to be prepared physically and emotionally for the memories you are about to see. Any physical pain you underwent will come back to the surface, although it's only temporary. Seeing these memories happen all over again could be overwhelming, depending on what happened to each of you." Emma stepped back and looked over the group, to her parents, to her son, to Killian, to Robin, then finally to Regina - who was sitting at her desk, rocking her daughter as she slept tranquilly in her arms.

The side of the blonde's mouth tipped upward as her olive green eyes quickly passed over Regina and her newborn. Emma was glad Regina had found happiness after all this time.

 _Real happiness_.

The town had forgiven her; had now looked to her as their leader. She had a family at last. She would never be alone again.

Everyone in that room could see that Regina was happy. They could see it in the way her eyes lightened, in the way her face brightened the minute her daughter grabbed at her fingers with her hands, in the bright smile that erupted across her face.

Emma waved a hand over everyone, yellow beams of light shining in front of everyone's faces. Their memories returning.

Robin's lips tipped up in a quick smile before pursing into a grimace as his right hand felt for his left side. Regina cringed, as she could only assume he was remembering himself getting stabbed by Percival. It was only a matter of seconds until everyone's memories fully returned. Each dreamcatcher slowly came down from each person's face. Some face's depicted surprise, while other's - like Robin's - depicted an array of emotion. Pain, Concern, Joy, Relief, Love, Dread.

Vivid images passed across his memory in a blur. Getting stabbed by Percival, Regina drinking the water from Lake Nostos, proposing to Regina in their bed, Regina telling him she was pregnant, Arthur ordering Merlin to kill Regina in front of him. Reuniting with his sister. Regina's moans and screams before he blacked out.

 _The baby. Rae._

Robin's wide ocean eyes found their way to Regina and his daughter. He quickly sidestepped the desk, and immediately took his lover and daughter into his arms, kissing Regina on the lips, and his daughter on her forehead as his eyes welled with tears. Robin passed his thumb over his daughter's cheek as he whispered lovingly to her.

"You're okay." A statement. A fact that made his heart swell with happiness. "Oh gods you're okay. I love you so much, princess. So much." Robin pressed a light kiss to her forehead, and a deep kiss to Regina's lips. "Gods Regina you're both okay. I'm so relieved. I don't what I would've done if I lost the both of you in Camelot. God I love you so much."

After looking into his lover's eyes, he looked to the group before him clearing his throat as tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Rae. Is it true that she's here? In Storybrooke?"

Emma nodded. "Yes, she's here. Everyone in this town just got their memories back as soon as you guys did, so she's probably looking for you. How about you guys head home, get some rest, and we'll help you look tomorrow."

The whole group agreed it was late and they needed their sleep for tomorrow.

Killian walked towards Robin, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations, mate. You'll be an amazing father. One that that babe deserves," Killian nodded toward the infant asleep in her Mother's arms.

"Thank you, Killian. It is greatly appreciated." Robin hugged the ex-pirate with a few slaps on the shoulder.

"Mom," Henry spoke to the blonde, "Can I stay with Mom tonight? I want to meet the baby, and help look for Rae early tomorrow morning."

"Of course. Killian and I are going to head home, call us if you need anything, okay? I love you," Emma kissed Henry on the head, ruffling his chestnut locks, before interlocking her hand with Killian's as they made their way out of the office.

"I love you too, Mom," Henry said to Emma before he stepped closer to his sister, his smile brightening the moment he laid eyes on his sister's face. "She looks just like you, Mom." The baby yawned, "And she has Roland's dimples," he chuckled softly.

Snow and David looked on with smiles donning their faces.

"So," Snow spoke up. "Coronation Ceremony? Twelve o'clock? My place, tomorrow afternoon?"

"Of course, Snow. How could I say no with your persistence," the brunette laughed softly, "We'll be there a bit early with the guest of honor."

"Great. See you guys tomorrow, and call me if you guys need any help finding Rae tomorrow, okay?"

"Will do. Thank you, Snow. Truly," Robin smiled gratefully before the couple left the office.

As Robin heard the whispered footfalls of Snow and David as they stepped outside the office, Robin turned to his fiancee. "Do you think we'll find her, Regina?" Doubt was apparent in his voice, his cobalt-blue eyes drifting to his sleeping daughter, and down to the floor.

Regina looked at her soulmate, love apparent in her eyes, "Oh I know so. And who knows, she's smart, I'm sure she'll find us."

Their conversation ceased as soon as their infant daughter's cries filled the room.

"Uh oh. Someone's tired. Shhh," Regina stood and bounced her daughter as she held her close. "Mama's here..Mama's here."

"As if it were yesterday," Regina winked at her son as she took to walking around her office, continuously bouncing their daughter.

"Hey, would you two mind heading over to Granny's to get Roland? I don't want him out this late, even if it's in the responsible hands of Storybrooke's ex-werewolf."

Robin knew that wasn't made to be an insult, but a loving jab at the woman that helped her through her tough times during The Missing Year. Regina didn't even think she would've made it to where she was today without the mothering of that old woman.

Regina continued, whispering. "I can get her in her carseat. I just want to make sure she's a bit drowsy before we lay her down. I'll wait for you here?"

With a nod, and a quick peck to Regina's lips and his daughter's forehead, Robin and Henry had left to get Roland, leaving Regina and their daughter in the silence of her own office.

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No noises sounded in Regina's office save the close-to-silent thrum of the air conditioning, and the whispered breathing of the baby girl that lay in Regina's protective arms.

Regina still couldn't tear her eyes away from her daughter, with her wide curious eyes - that looked just like her's - or the dimples that appeared on her face with a single smile. She couldn't help the large smile that appeared on her face the minute her daughter's eyes met hers. The infant smiled, those dimples appearing once more.

"Hi, baby girl. You are gorgeous. _Absolutely_ gorgeous. Yes you are," The brunette cooed to the baby in her arms as she passed a thumb across her daughter's stomach like she used to do with Henry. A small gurgle of laughter erupted from the baby's lips as she heard her Mother's voice.

"God I never thought I'd have you," Regina let out a slow exhale as she looked down at her daughter with eyes filled with love and hope. "And I'm so glad that I do. After I drank that potion I never even thought I'd be able to carry you. The few months I was carrying you were some of the best months of my life. The minute I felt you first move…" Regina blew out a breath, tears gleaming in her eyes as she remembered that moment clear as day.

She was at Granny's - they all were. Specifically, Regina had been sitting at the bar that morning nursing a decaf coffee - it was her usual during that time in Camelot after she'd found out she was pregnant - next to Snow who was holding Neal in her arms. They had been talking about how excited Neal would be to have someone to play with once Regina's daughter was born. That once they get older, they'd probably be inseparable. Regina chuckled at this adding a quick prayer hoping that she wouldn't inherit Regina's sharp tongue, that it could get her into lots of trouble. Snow laughed at this, stating that Regina's "sharp tongue" wasn't what made her, her. It was her resilience and capacity for love. That she wouldn't be Regina without those two things.

It was after Regina gave Snow a grateful nod, and was bringing her teacup to her lips that she felt a tiny flutter in her abdomen. With a sudden sharp gasp, her hand came from the bar counter to press against her abdomen, the other hand setting the cup down, some coffee sloshing onto the saucer itself.

Her face had turned pale as fear filled her whiskey eyes. "Snow." Her voice was monotone, fright coloring her tone.

Snow's eyebrows knit with confusion and concern as she took in her friend's demeanor. She had asked Regina what was wrong - she hadn't answered. Snow quickly walked over to David to hand him Neal, and in a heartbeat had a gentle hand on Regina's back asking her the question again, asking if she was going to be sick, that they could head to the bathroom if need be.

Upon hearing Snow's words, the older brunette quickly shook her head, her hand still pressed against her abdomen.

"I-I felt something," Regina choked out in a hoarse whisper. Brown looked for olive green.

Snow's eyes depicted confusion at Regina's words. "Regina you're-"

"-There." Regina had quickly grabbed the hand of the woman across from her with both her hands, placing her friend's hand on her small bump. Regina inhaled a sharp gasp as the same sensation came again. "What is that?"

Snow donned a smile as she felt what it was Regina felt.

"What is it?" Regina snapped, irritation flooding her tone. "Why are you smiling?"

"Regina," Snow let out a soft chuckle, "she's _moving_. That flutter you feel? That's your daughter moving inside of you."

Regina's eyes had widened with surprise at Snow's words before she spoke in a shocked whisper. "She's moving?" Snow nodded with a excited smile.

A relieved smile made it's way onto the older woman's face as she coasted a palm over the swell of her abdomen. _Their daughter was moving_. Regina couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

She had told Robin that night as they lay in bed, her head on Robin's chest, as they cuddled - the moonlight's beams soaking the room in it's glorious light. He was ecstatic, as was Regina, smiles donning both their faces. Robin couldn't keep his hands off of her, had pressed his lips against her stomach the minute he felt the first flutter that added to the evidence that his unborn daughter grew inside of the woman he loved. Those days Robin couldn't suppress his smile as he felt their daughter moving in her Mother's womb.

Especially when they were making love in the silence of their private quarters, the only sound their own sharp exhales and pleasured moans - with Regina's bump pressed up against Robin's abdomen as she straddled him, taking him in with each rhythmic thrust of their hips together, until stars bloomed in her vision and she came to lay beside him, her head laying on her soulmate's chest as she let his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

Those were the best nights - and days if she counted the mornings after.

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Regina broke out of her reverie as she heard the door to her office open, and loud quickened footsteps of the six year old she came to love and call her son.

"'Gina!"

"Roland you have to be silent, your baby sister's trying to sleep. What did I tell you before we set foot in the office?" Robin gently scolded his son, his voice descending to a whisper. Not harsh, but enough that Roland knew that he did was bad.

Roland looked to the floor, his head of thick brown curls swaying with the movement. "That we had to be quiet."

"That's right. But it's okay. Just don't do it again, okay Buddy?" Roland nodded. "Okay." Henry gave him a slight squeeze on the shoulder as he guided his younger brother towards where their Mother and sister were sitting on the office's couch, Regina's legs tucked underneath her thighs, her shoes tucked underneath the couch.

Regina nodded towards the spot next to her. "Do you want see your baby sister, Roland?"

The little boy nodded enthusiastically as he quickly slipped his shoes off and made his way to sit on the couch - his heels underneath him as his knees sprang up to get a better look at his little sister.

"She's so small, 'Gina. Do you think she'll want to play with me?"  
"I'm sure she will, Roland - once she's older, and strong enough to stand on her own. You can show her how to color, and you can show her your favorite ice cream flavors, and the comic books Henry gave you. She'll look up to you like you do Henry."

Roland gave a toothy smile at the brunette's words. "I'll protect her like I protect you, 'Gina."

Regina couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. Pride and love shined through her eyes as she looked around at her favorite boys, than to her daughter that lie fast asleep in her arms. She didn't care how they came into her life, she was happy, _truly_ happy. This feeling was the closest she'd ever been to real happiness, and she would never take it for granted.

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Walking into the mansion, Regina had first peered inside the living room - there were no remnants of what she had done to her sister. No wooden chair, no rope, no corpse of the redheaded witch she had so stupidly named family. No evidence of the heart she'd crushed; its ashes falling onto the pristine carpet below.

"I'm gonna help Roland get ready for bed. Come by my room if you need anything, okay?"

Regina blinked away her thoughts as her whiskey brown eyes flit to her sons walking up the carpet-clad steps.

"Okay, lad. Your mother and I will be up there soon," Robin called up. Henry gave Robin a nod and a smile before turning and walking up the rest of the steps before the two boys disappeared behind Roland's bedroom door. Regina slowly walked into the kitchen, flicking the lights on, setting her keys on the island, before turning to Robin, her hands pressed against the granite, gripping it enough that she could make her thoughts just _stop._

Regina exhaled slowly, trying to take in everything that had happened that night.

Robin came behind her seconds after, setting Sara's car seat on the bar in the kitchen, before he walked toward his soulmate, nothing but love in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about, my love?" Robin was just inches away from her face as he looked into her whiskey brown eyes, placing his hands on both her hips.

"Just this _night_ … It all happened so fast. The sleeping curse, all of the memories from Camelot that we got back, what I did to Zelena? How the hell are we going to tell the kids? How am I going to explain my past to Sara when she's old enough? " _Sweetheart, I murdered thousands of people while trying to murder your Aunt and Uncle. I'm so sorry"_?"

"We have a baby _,_ Robin," Regina continued as her watery eyes flit to cobalt blue one's, confusion and anxiety swimming in them, "and I can't help but think about how she's going to hate me after hearing everything I've done. I can't help but think about my Mother. I will _never_ be my Mother, but all of those memories come back everytime I look at our daughter. Everything Cora _did_ to me. I've never taken care of girls, Robin. Only boys. Henry, Roland, Neal. What if I'm not good enough for her?"

Robin quickly pulled her to him after hearing her words, enveloping her in a tight hug as he whispered, his breath warm on the nape of her neck.

"You will be a wonderful Mother, my love. You _are_ a wonderful Mother."

Robin pulled back as he looked into watery amber eyes, "When she is old enough, yes we will tell her everything, but we don't have to worry about that until the time comes. Your Mother was horrid, and if she were here I would tell her so. Let those memories of your childhood be a guide. Let them show you day by day that you will never turn into your Mother.

Let the fact that we have another child to raise be a sign that the world sees goodness in you. The world sees light in you, Regina, and knows that you will be an amazing Mother to our daughter. You are Regina - soon to be Locksley - Mills," Regina smiled at the thought of being Robin's wife.

"You are a Strong Mother, and Resilient Survivor. You are the love of my life - the love of your children's lives - and you will never be alone as long as I'm here, you hear me?"

Regina nodded solemnly, tears glistening in her eyes. Whiskey eyes flit to cobalt-blue one's. "Thank you."

"Of course, Milady." Robin smirked, then it dimples appearing with the smirk that donned his face. "If you need another pep talk, I'll be here all week," he winked.

Regina hit his shoulder playfully, smiling brightly as she laughed. _Really_ laughed.

"Okay, thief. Let's get our daughter to bed, shall we?"

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They were finally home - the boys in their beds, and their daughter sleeping soundly in the next room in the white wooden crib that Regina had poofed into their daughter's pale pink nursery. The minute she stepped through its french doors she had waved a hand over the expanse of it, furniture appearing in light puffs of purple smoke. A pearl white dresser to line the left wall, and Sara's crib to line the right. A rocking chair sat at the corner to the left of the two walls, near the dresser, a nightstand adjacent to it.

Robin had dressed Sara in her light pink onesie - the child smiling as large smiles shined on both her parent's faces - with the help of his fiancee before he, clothed in only his boxers, climbed under the covers of their bed, and took to watching his love - his chin resting on the heel of his hand - as she stepped out of the shower, dried her body and her hair with her towel, and strode into their bedroom. Regina quickly slipped on her pajamas and walked towards their bed a warm smile on her face.

"I love you." Regina pulled the bed sheets over the two of them before giving Robin and quick peck on the lips. She laid her head down on his chest, closing her eyes.

"And I you," Robin answered gathering her body in his arms. Robin kissed the top of her head, the only sounds being their breathing, and the thrums of their heartbeats in the dark night that surrounded them as they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

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She was woken by the dull and continuous knocking of a fist against the front door that pierced the silence of the night. Regina's eyes shot open to greet pitch black darkness. Either it was early in the morning, or really late at night, Regina thought. She first felt the warmth of Robin's body at her side, before her eyes quickly slid over to the clock she kept on her nightstand. Three minutes after one in the morning. Who would be awake this late at night?

Regina sat up quickly in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before quickly nudging Robin's side hard to wake up before slipping into her night robe and slippers.

"Robin, _wake up_ , there's someone at the door," Nothing. God this man truly slept like a rock. A small smirk made its way onto her face as she realized how exactly she was going to wake him up. A slender hand came to pinch his bicep. Cobalt blue-black eyes opened greeting whiskey irises as Regina retreated her hand, tying her robe closed as she spoke to Robin.

"What's wrong? Is Sara alright?" Robin said, alarm and dread in his tone.

"She's fine. There's just someone at the door."

Robin yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stretched his arms over his head, rubbing his bicep in mock-hurt.

"Such a wonderful way to be woken up, my love. What time is it?"

"A few minutes past one," Regina's voice was hoarse and scratchy from sleep.

"Gods, who would be awake at this time of night?"

Regina scaled Robin's body under the sheets with mischievous eyes. "Get some clothes on and we'll go find out, hm?"

Robin was already pulling a t-shirt, his boxers that were thrown on the floor, and a pair of sweatpants over those before Regina could pad towards the master bedroom door.

Regina jarred it open slowly, afraid of the low squeak the door's hinges sometimes sounded into the silent night. Everything seemed louder in the dark, Regina thought. Thankfully the moon's beams gave them a guide to the hall that led to the staircase.

Once downstairs, Robin flicked the porch light on, shining some light on the figure that stood underneath it on the bricked pavement.

His eyes widened upon seeing the figure through the window's that encompassed either side of the front door.

Before Regina could blink, the front door was open, the cold night air seeping into the house.

Regina wrapped her robe around her tighter, a faint smile on her lips. Her whiskey eyes searched over the figure that stood on the porch, the woman's palm set in mid-knock. From her blue velvet dress, to her dirty blonde hair, to the crystal blue eyes Regina thought she could never forget, a mix of relief and happiness shining brightly in them.

"Rae."


	19. Chapter 19

Regina had invited the young woman in from out of the cold and offered her a warm drink. The three were now sitting on her living room couch - Regina with a coffee and Rae nursing a warm chamomile tea herself.

"How did you find us?" Robin's voice was filled with shock, hope and love all at once.

"Well, the minute Emma cast the curse to bring us all here, I had no memory of what had taken place after you and the others set foot in Camelot. The last thing I remembered was the darkness of Arthur's underground cell."

She saw Rae shudder before she continued, "I woke up in the forest that night - the night Emma brought us all here. I didn't know where I was, how I had gotten there. I just knew I needed to find someone. Ask somebody where I was; how I had gotten to this place. Without my memories, everything confused me. It took me a matter of days to actually see something resembling civilization. For days all I saw were wood - until tonight. I was led to this town by a heavier kind gentleman I met who lives in these forests with an entire group of other men. It seemed kind of peculiar to me but-"

"John," A small smile drew Robin's lips upwards, his eyes shining with gratitude.

"Yes that was his name!" Rae's brows shot up, "Do you know him, Robin?" she asked.

"Yes. He is a very close friend of mine - practically my brother. As are my Merry Men."

"Merry Men?" Rae smiled, curiosity flooding her tone. "Well that's very nice. Maybe I can properly meet them soon?"

"I'm sure they would love it," Robin smiled, setting a gentle hand on his sister's knee.

"We should probably get you settled in - you want to sleep as much as you can before tomorrow. I'm sure the other's will ask a lot of questions about your return," Regina set her coffee on the table in front of her, standing with a deep exhale. "There's a guest bedroom that Robin can get you set up in, I'll go get you some clean sheets. We're beyond glad to have you back, Rae," Regina threw Rae a friendly smile before she squeezed her shoulder and walked off towards the linen closet. Robin noticed the rigidness of the brunette's shoulders as she walked, facing away from Robin and his younger sister. He threw his soulmate a questioning look, after leading his sister towards the bottom of the stairs.

"Rae can you wait here a moment? I have to talk to Regina."

Rae nodded politely before he went to leave, following Regina toward the linen closet in the hall.

"Hey-"

Regina turned towards the man opposite her, a large stack of sheets now in her arms, whispering, her eyes gleaming with the onset of tears. "I-I can't go back in that room, Robin. The memories I have of what Zelena did to me - to our _daughter_?" Regina shuddered as the agonizing pain she had experienced in Camelot lingered in the back of her mind.

Robin set a gentle hand on the back of her bicep, looking at her with concerned eyes. "Love, I would never make you go back in there - not unless you're comfortable. I'll take care of Rae if you want to clean up downstairs?" He held out his hands for the sheets, with the encouraging smile on his face that always made Regina's stomach flip with happiness. God she loved him.

She handed the sheets over to him, a gracious smile edging her lips upward as she looked into his dark cobalt eyes, and placed a quick kiss upon his lips, letting an "I love you" pass through hers before she padded her way into the living room to take care of the cups that littered the coffee table, throwing Rae a smile, explaining that Robin was going to get her settled in.

The brunette made her way towards the kitchen, both mugs in hand. As she silently rinsed them, she heard Robin speak behind her.

"Shall we?"

Regina looked back to her fiancee and his sister, her mouth angling upwards in a smile. She was glad Robin had his sister back in his life. She thought of what the boy's reactions would be when they realized their Aunt Rae had returned. Imagined big smiles and large hugs as the boys ran down the stairs in a haste. Regina imagined having to explain the situation with Sara to Rae. Having to explain why the bitchy red-head was no longer with them. She imagined telling Rae her daughter's name.

Sara Grace Locksley.

Regina smiled, a feeling of longing for her daughter suddenly settling low in her stomach. Her eyes searched over the living room, checking for the two siblings. Nothing. They must've already gone upstairs to the guest room, Regina thought. After turning off the kitchen lights, Regina padded towards the stairs, taking each step softly, afraid of waking her children up.

As she made her way upstairs, she heard the soft voices of Robin and his sister as he explained to her where everything was, and to come get either Robin or Regina if she needed anything - that they were just across the hall.

"Did Regina lose the baby? She doesn't seem to be showing anymore."

Rae's whispered statement felt like a punch in the gut as the memories of her last day in Camelot flooded her mind full force. But Robin's voice stilled the memories, anchored her to reality.

"It's… complicated. Regina didn't lose the baby. Our daughter is alive and well, but she was born a bit early due to magical circumstances. I'll explain it all tomorrow once we've all had a good night's rest, yeah?"

Robin's voice faded as Regina's eyes flit towards the dim light that was peaking through the crack underneath the door leading into Sara's nursery. They hadn't turned any lights on in her room...

Regina's heart dropped in her stomach as she thought of the only thing it could be.

 _It seems as if your child possesses light magic all on it's own...The magic of true love, of course._

She quickly made for the nursery in quick steps, alarm and confusion and dread passing over her features. She cracked the door open, and instantly felt a blanket of relief come around over her the minute she saw where the light was coming from - the small revolving night light that sat on the dresser along the wall opposite of Regina, adjacent to the crib her daughter laid in.

Regina exhaled deeply, resting her head against the door as she stared at her daughter - she was fast asleep, her small breaths the only sound resonating off of the pale pink walls, save the light melody of the music box that also sat on the dresser along with the night light.

Regina quietly padded into the room, sitting in the rocking chair, taking comfort in the light sway of it as her eyes flit to the infant in the crib. She stared at the rise and fall of her baby's chest, her whiskey eyes never leaving her daughter's small form.

Regina's eyes then scanned over the expanse of the room to land on the nightstand next to her.

The brunette smiled at the sight of Henry's storybook.

She assumed he had read a bit to his sister before he decided to go to bed. She wondered what story he had read the infant. Probably Snow and David's story, she assumed. To think he would've read her the story of her Mother's past, Regina scoffed, rolling her eyes as she breathed out slowly, leaning back in the chair. That story was messy, dark and complicated. Full of betrayal and revenge and deceit.

Regina's thoughts stilled as a small squeak sounded, piercing the silence of the quiet night, and interrupting Regina's thoughts. Regina stilled, her eyes immediately flitting to the door, her maternal instinct causing her to stand quickly and edge closer to her daughter's crib.

Relief flooded her veins as whiskey eyes found a pair of blue ones in the dimly lit room.

"I thought I'd find you in here," Robin's deep accented voice was but a whisper as he made his way behind Regina, enveloping his arms around her midriff as they both stared down at their daughter, peacefully asleep. Innocent.

Robin exhaled slowly, his breath warming the nape of her neck. Regina grabbed at Robin's forearm encircling her waist.

"I just needed to know that she was still here." The brunette's eyes never left her daughter. "What happened in Camelot before we came back…" Regina breathed out a slow exhale. "I thought I lost her," Regina's voice trembled as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"We won't ever lose her as long as I'm alive. I promise you. I would die to protect this family. To protect you, or our childr-"

" _No_ ," Regina cut him off in a firm whisper. "I will _not_ let you die for me. _Ever_. Our children need you, Robin," Regina turned in his arms, their faces inches away from each other's. " _Promise_ me you won't ever try to risk your life for me. You're too important to me, and to this family. Our children _need_ their father."

Robin looked to the floor for a moment before his eyes flit up to meet hers, he let out a defeated sigh and an earnest nod.

Regina gave Robin a peck on the cheek before she looked into his ocean eyes, a simple smile etched on her features. "I love you."

Robin echoed the expression. "And I you, M'lady."

Robin took his hands off of Regina's hips, and held them in his, rubbing his thumbs across her knuckles in a comforting gesture. "Do you want to head to bed, my love? I promise you Sara will be here in the morning. Her nursery is just across the hall from our room if you want to see her, you know this. We also have that contraption that will let us hear her if she cries."

Regina chuckled at Robin's unknown knowledge of modern tools and gave him a slight nod to the prior question, wrapping her arms around the man before her, smoothing her hands over the muscles of his back and down his torso to his hips before he effortlessly picked her up in his arms - one hand under her knees, the other encircling her lower back.

Robin, after taking off Regina's robe and slippers, laid her down in their bed once he reached their room, covering the both of them with their comforter just as he climbed into the bed himself. He turned over on his side, facing her. He noticed the relaxed lines of her face and the elusive but satisfying smile that tugged her lips upward as soon as she burrowed her face further into the pillow. She was content. And that was all he'd ever wanted for her.

His eyes closed the minute his head hit the pillow. For hours he listened to the normalized breathing of the woman beside him as the night stretched on before sleep dragged him under into its calming silence.

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The sky had turned a light gray. Dawn. The early morning sun barely peeked through the misty clouds of fog that billowed around the tombstones as Regina's breath puffed out in a thick cloud before her. She wrapped her hands around her middle, bringing her coat closer to her sides.

Regina's whiskey eyes locked onto the smooth grey stone of the tombstone that took purchase in the earth a few feet before her. Zelena's grave.

Regina had climbed out of bed in the early hours of the morning, donning in her warmer clothes, the sky still dark save the stars that were scattered in its inky blackness, leaving a note on her pillow saying that she was going to the cemetery, that she'd be back in an hour, and that there was a warm bottle in the kitchen if Sara woke hungry - as well as to how to burp and change her. She informed him that she magicked a dress from her closet for Rae onto the living room couch, to bring it up to her when she woke. She wrote not to worry for her safety, that she had something she needed to do before they went to Snow's apartment that afternoon. And so she drove down to the cemetery, a certain nervousness gnawing at her throughout the whole ten minute drive.

She now stood in front of the grave of her deceased sister. "You were telling the truth…" Regina let out a low exhale as a light chuckle passed through her lips. "You were telling the truth."

Regina spoke to the wind.

A gloved hand came up to scrub over her face as thoughts raced through her mind. Was she sorry for what she did? No. Zelena deserved everything she'd endured, even if she didn't kill the brunette's child. That witch transferred her child from her mother's womb and into her own like some sort of possession or pawn in the game of revenge she thought she was playing. Regina would never forgive her.

Although the brunette did feel a certain sadness claw at the rigid corners of her heart. Regina supposed it was the death and sadness that hung still in the chilled air around the cemetery. She supposed it was the pity she had felt for her sister. Being given away as a child, being loved by no one. Taking comfort in other people's suffering, in her own sister's suffering. She pitied her. Although Regina had caused misery and suffering to thousands, she had changed for the better. She vowed to be better, for Henry. But Zelena never thought to think about the life Regina endured with someone like their Mother.

Controlling. Authoritative. Horrid.

Regina didn't think she would ever be able describe her Mother in more positive words.

"Beautiful day isn't it, Regina?"

Regina recognized the voice automatically as the accented tone of Gold.

She turned, facing the older man. "What are you doing here?" Regina noticed how light the sky had gotten. It was probably around half past 7 o'clock, she guessed.

"Well I went to your house looking for you but Mr. Locksley told me I'd find you here."

Regina nodded in understanding.

"I came to offer my condolences."

Regina scoffed. "Thank you, but after Zelena did what she did to my daughter, I wanted her dead. As much as you did after what she did to your son. Thank you, but I don't need your condolences. I did kill her after all."

Rumplestiltskin offered a small smile. "You always were my best student."

A few moments of silence hovered between the two before Regina spoke.

"I had her heart in my hands. I was about to crush it when she told me that my daughter was still alive. Like if she told the truth I wouldn't have killed her.. At the time I thought she was lying - trying to rub salt in the wound. Why would she have told the truth?"

"My best guess would be that she was probably afraid to die with an unclear conscience," a few moments of silence from the older man, "Nobody wants to die in general - it's the one thing that rings true in the majority of humanity. We all think we have more time until we don't. Death is frightening and desolate, and even the most villainous of people can be afraid of it."

The premise of Gold's reply dawned on her. She couldn't help but think about the time when she was to be executed at the hands of Snow and David's archers. She was blindfolded. Tied to a post, no way to move as the archers made to aim at their target. She had put up a facade of strength minutes earlier. Had claimed that she'd held much regret in the fact that she was not able to cause more pain, inflict more misery, bring about more death upon the people of the kingdom. The moment David yelled to the royal archers to fire, and they placed the blindfold over her eyes, her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach in dread and fear.

 _Above all else, with every ounce of my being, I regret that I was not able to kill Snow White!_

Regina thought of the present. She thought of how glad she was that she was never able to kill Snow. That she wouldn't have the family she had now, otherwise. Granted Snow did annoy her at times with her infuriating optimism and hope-filled mind, perhaps she never wanted to kill her - the little girl that she had saved all those years ago. She could've ended her life with the simple flick of her wrist, but she never did… Even when she had the chance, she could never do it, and, as always she had thrown up the facade of strength that she managed oh-so perfectly.

"Are you afraid to die?"

Gold simply looked out to the horizon, thinking. "After what happened before you all left Camelot, I told Belle that there was a world out there for her with Will, asked her how she could ever love a man like me. She said she didn't love Will, that she wasn't going to let me die. And that was when the only thing that remained was a simple man. I still cannot comprehend how she could love the Man behind the Beast…"

A few seconds of silence hovered between them as Gold let out a deep exhale, "After I died, the darkness fled my body, and the Apprentice purified my heart. From that moment forward, I vowed that when I woke, I would be a better man for Belle. A better husband to her, because that's what she deserves. So am I afraid to die? Yes. Only because I don't want to die and not give Belle the world she dreamed of."

Regina looked at the older man, a quizzical expression donning her features. "You really want to change for Belle?"

The older man nodded solemnly. "I want to be a better man not just for Belle, but for myself. After Baelfire I never let myself become the man I truly wanted. I used magical objects to cling to power and darkness. And I no longer want to be that man. For Belle, or for Henry."

"Well I hope you keep your promise. Belle sure deserves it," Regina nodded slightly.

"What about you, Your Majesty? Are you afraid to die?"

The question made me Regina stop and think. Was she afraid to die? Yes. After everything she'd done she'd felt she deserved death. That she was going to accept it. That she didn't love anybody, and nobody loved her.

But now that she had something to lose… She had people to lose. She had people that would miss her if she was gone. She had a family.

"Yes, I'm afraid. But..we're not dying right now, so we just have to make the best of what we have, right?"

Rumple nodded in agreement.

It was a few minutes of silence before a question wormed its way into Regina's brain.

"Why did Zelena have her memories when we all returned from Camelot?"

"Because she was carrying a child conceived by soulmates out of true love, of course. The magic your daughter possesses counter-acted the magic Ms. Swan used to extract your memories, and made Zelena immune to it."

"But she was so young! How could her magic start functioning at such a young age? She wasn't even born yet," Regina questioned.

"Well, true love is the most powerful magic of all." Gold turned to face the younger woman donning a small smile before he pulled a small box from his suit jacket pocket. Regina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Gold set the small box in her gloved palm, closing her fingers around it before he turned to leave.

Regina's eyes flit to the small box in her palm, hesitant. She buried in her coat's pocket telling herself that she would open it when she got in the car to drive home. That she would walk away from Zelena's grave with its depressing smell to enjoy the beginnings of the sun's rays on her face, and the wind that billowed around her as she walked up the dirt road and into the small parking lot where she had parked her car minutes before walking down to the cemetery.

As soon as she got into the car - seatbelt on, car in reverse to pull out, she was reminded of the small box that still took purchase in her coat pocket. Regina put the car in park then, hesitantly pulling the box out and into her left palm, her right hand opening it slowly.

Regina's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the piece of jewelry before her.

Her engagement ring.

 _It was never lost…_

She took in the thin silver band, and in the middle, the dark red ruby held in place by the small silver crown at its middle. Regina couldn't help a large smile from making its way onto her face as she took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her left ring finger with pride. The sun's rays glinted off of the ruby as she put the car in reverse, turned the wheel of the car to back out of the parking lot, and drove home to her family with love coursing through every ounce of her as she smiled brightly.

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.

.

The clock struck twelve in the afternoon, and the family of five were still getting ready for the coronation ceremony held in their youngest child's honor.

Five minutes till they had to leave to The Charming's Apartment. By this time everyone had heard of what Zelena had done, and who had killed her. And they all agreed with what Regina had done.

Regina yelled downstairs as she stepped into her navy heels, and put her diamond earrings in. "Henry! Can you help Roland find his shoes?!"

"Sure thing, Mom!" She heard Henry call from down the hall.

She looked over herself in the mirror. She smoothed her hands over the lace quarter sleeved navy dress she wore that tightened at the hips, the dress ending a few inches above the knee in lace embroidery.

Within a matter of minutes, and a thin application of dark red lipstick, she heard a knock on the door frame of her and Robin's bedroom and a small coo following it soon after.

Regina's whiskey eyes quickly flit to the door, her heart bursting with love as she took in the sight of Robin holding their daughter in his arms. He was dressed in a thin navy sweater, a light blue collared shirt underneath it, dark wash jeans, and the nice dress shoes Regina had bought for him months before they traveled to Camelot - he said he wanted a pair of shoes for special occasions, rather than the boots he wore most of his days out.

She had to say, Robin cleaned up nice.

"You look beautiful, my love," Robin walked over to his fiancee, their daughter in his arms, a hand at her small back, and a towel over the shoulder Sara was leaned up against. He placed a quick kiss to Regina's temple as best she could.

"You clean up nice as well.. _thief_ ," Regina winked at her soulmate, before rubbing a slender hand on the small of her daughter's back as the newborn leant against her father's right shoulder.

"How's she doing?" Regina's eyes soon flicked back to Robin's, curiosity shining in them.

By the time she had made it back home from the cemetery at about eight thirty in the morning, Sara was wide awake. She was greeted with the warm sight of Robin holding their daughter in his arms as he fed her her bottle and watched as Henry made everyone a small breakfast of eggs and bacon. _God he was getting so big_. It felt like just yesterday he was learning to walk.

She had told Robin of what Gold gave her, that he had it all along. Robin told her so, smirked, kissed her lips and claimed they needed to get ready to go to Snow's. That it would take forever for Roland to even pick out what he wanted to wear..just like his father. Regina chuckled at this. And that's where they were now. Dressed and ready to walk out of the house at any moment.

"She's doing perfect. I just fed, burped, and changed her. She was just crying for her mama," That small smile donned Robin's face like always, when his dimples appeared on his cheeks. Regina extended her arms for her daughter, cooing. "Ooo _baby girl!_ Come to Mama." Regina slid one hand under her small back, and laid her daughter's head in the crook of her arm, bringing her close to her.

"Do you want to see if the boys are situated? We should be leaving in a few minutes."

Robin quickly nodded before placing kisses on both Regina's and Sara's heads before he left the room and walked down the hall into Roland's room where the two boys were still getting ready.

Regina rocked her daughter in her arms, facing her daughter towards the long mirror that took purchase leaning against the master bedroom's wall.

Regina smiled, cooing to her daughter, "That's you baby girl! You look so beautiful for your big day today. Yes you do!"

Regina's eyes flit over the lace white dress and white booties her daughter wore, to the small flowered headband Regina had placed on her head.

 _She truly looks like a princess_ , Regina thought.

Her thoughts stilled as she heard the boy's footsteps as they bound down the stairs and out to the car. "Be careful!" She heard Robin's strongly accented voice as he yelled down the stairs to the two boys. Regina couldn't help but smile as she walked towards the guest room Rae slept in, fighting past the shudder that ran through her as she remembered all of the pain Zelena had caused her. She just needed to remember that Zelena was gone. She was gone and she would never return. One big deep breath in, and one big deep breathe out.

Regina knocked gently on the guest room door, the newborn still cooing in her arms, her tongue sticking out between her lips, the way it had when she was first born. "Knock, knock. You ready?"

The door opened quickly to reveal a smiling Rae, donned in the dark plum short sleeved chiffon dress Regina had leant her. It fit her perfectly, and the brunette couldn't be more glad - the color made the blue in her eyes shine like stars.

"I'm great. Thank you again for the dress, it's beautiful. Robin said it's one of yours, I'll give it back the minute me get back hom-"

"Nonsense. Keep it. The color suits you - brings out your eyes. You look beautiful," Regina smiled.

"Oh gods, Thank you. Are you sure?"

"Positive. And remind me later, but I'll have to get you some new clothes now that you're here. Now let's get this little girl situated in the car," Regina exhaled deeply as she position the baby comfortably in her arms.

"She's absolutely beautiful just like her Mother," Rae commented.

"Thank you," Regina smiled as the two women walked down the stairs slowly, with Regina in heels holding the newborn.

In a matter of minutes, both her, Rae and Robin were downstairs, Robin grabbing the diaper bag in one swift motion as he led Rae, Regina and their newborn in her arms out of the house, locking the door behind him.

The brunette had secured their daughter in her carseat, as Robin secured Roland in his. The couple made eye contact and smiled at each other, love shining in their eyes.

"I love you guys, but if you keep looking at each other like that, I don't think we'll ever make it to Grandpa and Grandma's on time," Henry voiced from the backseat, amusement dripping from his tone. Rae snickered in the backseat.

"Okay, lad," Robin chuckled as Regina gave Henry a stern yet amused look. In seconds, the couple was in the car, buckled up and on their way to The Charming's Apartment.

.

.

.

As soon as they set foot in the home of the two lovers, the majority of its occupants cheered with their glasses held high for their little guest of honor that laid peacefully in the car seat Robin was carrying. Regina's watery eyes widened and flit to each and every person in the room. All of Robin's Merry Men, all of the dwarves, Granny, Emma, Hook, Belle… They all came here for her daughter. She could only assume that Snow told them all of the situation. Regina's eyes glistened with tears as a warm smile painted itself on her face.

"Rae!" Snow ran up to throw her hands around the younger woman, a smile etching itself onto her features as she pulled back and looked at the woman in front of her. "I'm so glad they found you."

"Actually," Robin voiced from the door, holding his daughter's carseat, "She found us.."

"With the help of some of Robin's friends," Rae threw a grateful look to the group of large men that sat by the couch on the far right wall, Little John in particular.

"Well," Snow squeezed Rae's arm gently, "We're glad to have you back. Help yourself to anything on the kitchen table, and make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Snow." Rae answered, before the older woman fled to tend to her child who was crying hysterically - probably because of the amount of people in the room, Regina assumed. From the amounts of times she'd babysat him, she knew Neal hated crowds.

Regina quickly eyed her two boys as they found their way to the food. _As always_ , Regina thought to herself as she walked towards Robin offering to take the baby if he wanted to introduce Rae properly to Little John and the others. In a matter of minutes, Regina was carrying her daughter's carseat towards where The Charming's tended to their crying son, and Robin was leading Rae towards his group of Merry Men.

"Rae I'd like you to meet my Merry Men. Lads, this is my sister Rae."

John's eyes lit up. "This is _the_ Rae?"

"Indeed," Robin's proud smile. Robin's sister threw him a puzzled look.

"When I first joined their group I talked about you quite a lot - how much I missed you, if I would ever see you again…"

The silence grew thick until a ringing teared through it and with each ring the room quieted, until it was completely silent save the soft coo's of Neal and Sara - Neal in David's arms, and Sara in Snow's. All eyes found Regina, behind the bar in the kitchen, a glass in one hand, and a knife in the other. They assumed she used the knife to create such a ring.

"So I just wanted to welcome everyone. Robin and I are so glad you all could make it. And a huge thank you to Snow and David for hosting. Regina faced the owner's of the apartment, "With a baby I'm sure that can't be the easiest thing to do, so thank you for going out of your way to do this for Robin and I, it means more than you know."

Regina looked down for a minute before she looked to the crowd and smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "Just.. _thank you_ \- all of you. For believing in me. For believing I could change, and lead you all. This… this is all I've ever wanted. A family. A _real_ family. And that's exactly what I got. It might have taken a while, and that was my fault, but I got it. And I couldn't be more grateful. So thank you. We'll be introducing our daughter to you in a few minutes, I'm sure most of all of you are curious as to what name we have given her. For now, let's have some fun, shall we?"

Applause pierced the man-made silence as soon as Regina finished speaking. Regina gave the large group a smile before walking off to take Sara from Snow's arms, as Snow took Neal from David's - he had to speak with Regina, and Snow knew exactly why. The room roared with the conversations of the guests as Snow walked towards Robin to tell him where Regina would be for the next few minutes.

"Regina," David set a gentle hand on Regina's arm, and the brunette looked up from her daughter with a smile - a genuine smile.

"David," Her smile dropped as she looked at his eyes..which were filled with anxiousness. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah everything's fine. I just..I was hoping I could talk to you? In private?"

"Oh of course." Regina moved to put the infant in her carseat, and get Granny to watch her when David stopped her quickly with a hand on her back.

"Oh Regina, stop. You can bring her with you, she's no trouble. Is upstairs, okay?"

"That sounds perfect. Lead the way, _Charming_ ," Regina chuckled as she cradled her daughter in her arms, and they walked up the staircase together.

They made it upstairs, and sat on their respective sides at the end of the bed. Regina rocking her daughter as her daughter sucked on her Mother's index finger, content.

David exhaled deeply.

"Hey what's going on? If you need to tell me something just tell me. You won't hurt my feelings, Charming. I'm stronger than you may think-"

"Oh I know you're strong, Regina. Your resilience has shown that enough."

"Then what is it?"

It felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

"I could never forgive you." Blunt. No explanation.

"Okay...Care to explain?"

His hands formed into fists on the jean fabric covering his thighs. He looked to the ground as he spoke, an aggravated but depressing look causing his features to harden, his eyes becoming a piercing blue. "I could never forgive the fact that you cast that curse. That you cast the curse that made us choose to send our daughter away into a world where she was alone. Where her life was hell. That you threatened our lives. Our daughter's life. That you took away 28 years of the lives Emma, Snow, and I could've spent together."

A few moments of silence hovered between the two, the conversations downstairs filling in the quiet gap.

"I never asked you to forgive me."

"But that's exactly what I realized today. As I looked at everyone who was here today for you and your daughter it made me think. If all of these people can see the good in you, why can't I? Snow respects you, the dwarves respect you, Robin's men respect you, for God sakes Granny is like a mother figure to you! - Don't think I did'nt see how close you were getting with her during the Missing Year," David smirked.

Regina chuckled at this as she ran a hand over the kicking feet of her newborn.

"If you never cast that curse, Emma would never have met Neal, we wouldn't have Henry. God knows what that would change! You are an amazing mother to Henry _and_ Roland, and I know you'll be just that to this little girl too. I just want to say that I forgive you. And thank you for an incredibly amazing grandson."

"Thank you.. For forgiving me. It's nice to hear. And Emma helped too, I can't take all the credit."

"This is true," David nodded in agreement, "You are both his mother's, he is glad to have both of you. And you are both doing a wonderful job. And you and Robin will do an amazing job with this beautiful girl here," David nodded towards the newborn in Regina's arms. "Any chance you could give me a heads up on her name?" Charming winked and Regina laughed.

"No can do, Charming," Regina stood slowly pulling the infant closer to her chest. "But, I _am_ going to inform everyone downstairs if you want to gather everyone around?" Regina smiled at the man still sitting on the end of the bed to her right.

David stood, his hands on his thighs as he did so. " _That_ I can make happen," his eyes seemed to light up as he stood and left in a slight jog down the steps, speaking as he descended the stairs, "Excuse me if we could have everyone's attention, just for one moment."

In a matter of minutes Regina was downstairs, Robin and the boys at her side, with their newborn lying safely in her arms in her pretty white dress. The entirety of the apartment had quieted to a light hum as all eyes turned towards the happy couple and their newborn daughter.

"This coronation ceremony is something I never really thought I'd have the opportunity to experience. But..fate can surprise you. It can bring you a soulmate, a son, a daughter, a _family_. This is the closest I've ever been to happiness. And we hope you can share in this happiness as we name our daughter after a girl who some thought was lost forever," Regina looked to Robin then. "In which fate, by chance, decided to let us find her."

"It is with great pride and joy that we introduce to you, our daughter," Robin began, "Princess Sarah Grace Mills - soon-to-be - Locksley," Regina finished as she held up her left hand, revealing her engagement ring that glistened in the flourescent lighting of the lights above them.

A single gasp sounded in the sea of people that occupied the apartment as the room erupted in many "Congratulations!" and "What a beautiful name!"'s. All eyes turned towards Rae, a watery smile plastered on her face as she walked up to hug her new family and pulled back to stare into the dark brown eyes of the little girl that laid peacefully in Regina's arms.

"Hello Sara Grace, it's so nice to officially meet you," Tears glistened in the young woman's eyes, as she shook the infant's hand, her tiny fingers wrapping around the young woman's index finger. Rae smiled once more,"She's gorgeous. Can I hold her?"

"Of course," Regina didn't hesitate as she said the words and handed her daughter over to her Aunt, who took the small infant in her arms, smiling down at her.

It was in a matter of minutes that Gold walked through the doorway and into the middle of the apartment. All noise winked out the minute he set foot in the vintage space.

"So...Sara Grace. What a lovely name. I'm sorry I couldn't attend sooner, I had some...business matters to take care of."

Both Regina and Robin looked to the older man, Robin stepping in front of his family, Regina gently pushing Rae behind her.

"What do you want?" Robin questioned the older man.

"Can we talk somewhere more private? Just outside perhaps?"

"Anything you say to them you can say to us," Snow interjected forcefully beside Regina.

"Very well…" Rumplestiltskin's brown, gold-flecked irises made they way to the newly-engaged couple.

"Zelena is Hades's true love-"

"Hades"? Lord of the Underworld? Fire and Brimstone?" Granny questioned. For a minute Regina forgot that the other residents of Storybrooke took purchase in the apartment with them.

"Precisely. After Zelena died, it opened the portal connecting our two realms, allowing Hades to come through as he sees fit.."

Regina's breath caught in her throat.

 _No_. _It couldn't be_.

"He know's about the prophecy and is on his way to Storybrooke right now…"

 _No. No. No. She just got her baby..._

"This will be a vigorous battle so we need to be prepared. Perhaps sending the child to a different realm-"

" _NO._ We will _not_ send our daughter away to God knows where. There has to be another way to keep her hidden from his magic. A protection spell, _something!_ " Robin's strong accented voice carried through the room.

"A cloaking spell," Emma added, "We cloak her and her magic so he can't detect her when he gets here. But you two will still be able to see her."

"Yeah. That might work," Regina's voice was monotone and shock-filled.

"We don't know how much time we have so we need to go now. Emma, meet me at my house after putting a protection spell over your parents'."

The blonde nodded to the brunette before she escorted the guests out of the apartment, informing them of what was happening and to stay safe. That she didn't know when Hades was to set foot in Storybrooke, but that she would inform everyone when he did.

Regina grabbed the diaper bag, threw the strap over her shoulder in pure determination, taking her sleeping baby from Rae's protective arms and laying her in her carseat as Rae rounded up the boys. In seconds they were walking quickly through the doorway to leave. Rae in charge of the boys, Robin carrying the carseat, and Regina behind them. They would get home, Emma would help her do the cloaking spell. Everything would be fine. They would defeat Hades when the time came. Three deep breaths, Regina reminded herself.

Three deep breathes and everything would be fine.

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

Regina, closed the door to the apartment behind her.


	20. Chapter 20

**Stay tuned for the Author's Note at the end of the chapter! | Disclaimer: Mentions of blood and death**

 _This wasn't happening. This_ couldn't _be happening._

Regina set foot in her house with a tremulous sigh, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she held her daughter protectively in her arms; the minute Regina had taken her daughter out of her carseat (waking her from her blissful sleep) she had started crying, and the brunette had consoled her daughter with loving murmurs in her ear and slight rocks from side to side.

Sara's cries instantly diminished to a soft coo at the sound of her mother's voice, and in a matter of minutes, a soft light breathing became evident in Regina's ears as she felt the rise and fall of a small chest beneath the palm of her right hand. She had fallen asleep. A mix of Rae and Roland's steps and and the resounding shut of the front door sounded in Regina's ears (as her son and sister-in-law were the last to make it into the house) and Regina's brought her free hand out in front of her, white light emitting from her palm and over the front door and walls of the white mansion.

Her whiskey eyes flit to her daughter's sleeping form, tears of anger and desolation shining in them. She would give her life before Hades laid a hand on the little girl in her arms. The back of her mind flared with the facet of a previous conversation between her fiance and her just the night before:

 _Promise me you won't ever try to risk your life for me. You're too important to me, and to this family. Our children_ need _their father._

There had to be another way to save their daughter where neither of them had to die. Where _no one_ had to die.

The sorceress's eyes never left the innocent face of the infant that lay in her arms. _Her daughter._ She still couldn't believe she was thinking of the words. This little girl who was barely two days old. A miracle in Regina's eyes. She never thought that she'd ever be able to conceive a child. And now she had a daughter made from half of her and half of the man she loved, and she couldn't be more in love with those warm brown eyes and dimples that rose every time she smiled—

Regina quickly blinked her thoughts away, thinking only about the plan at hand. Emma was bound to arrive in mere minutes. Regina told herself that Emma was putting a protection spell over her parents' apartment. She breathed out a shaky exhale. _Everything would be fine._

After directing Henry and Roland upstairs— Rae offered to stay upstairs with the boys— Robin and Regina sat downstairs on the living room couch waiting for their blonde friend to arrive. For now, nothing but silence—save the continuous crackle of the small fire Robin had started in the fireplace minutes after they had gotten home, and Sara's soft cooing— hovered ominously over them. The house had gotten a bit chilly while they were away at Snow and David's, and that was no environment for a small infant, let alone a six year old child, Robin thought to himself.

"I never thought we'd be here—you and I," Regina said as she laid her head on Robin's shoulder, thinking of the past year and a half. Meeting Robin in the Enchanted Forest, unsure whether she could love again, after Daniel, and after she lost the person she loved the most. Her son; her everything, at the time.

Now she had a new family. She had the Charmings and Robin, and Roland, and Henry, and Rae, and Sara.

 _They_ were her everything.

"Neither did I. From bickering constantly and hurling insults at each other in the Enchanted Forest, to now; engaged to be married with an infant daughter here in Storybrooke?" Robin passed his thumb over his daughter's cheek as silence hung over the two soulmates before Robin spoke again, "I'd say fate was in our favor, my love."

Regina couldn't help but think of how fate certainly wasn't in their favor right now, with the Lord of the Underworld after their daughter.

With concern clouding in his eyes, Robin noticed the despaired look on the brunette's face. Pessimism stretched over the whites of her eyes, the minute he said the words, but her whiskey brown irises told a different story. A story of love and loss. A story that Regina told herself everyday, that made her stronger. Her story. And she was so glad she lived it. She wouldn't be where she was today otherwise.

Robin pressed a kiss to Regina's hair, encircling his arm around her waist, "We _will_ defeat Hades. I promise."

He held his girls for what seemed like hours before his lover spoke, parting the growing silence brought on by the ominous feeling that lingered over them like thick smoke.

Her voice broke and trembled as she looked to her baby in her arm's, fighting the tears in her eyes. "There's still a chance we could lose her tonight - lose _any_ of our children tonight. Robin...I don't think I'll be able to survive that."

"It won't come to that—"

"—And how do you know for certain?" Regina whispered, interrupting him. Her voice was thick with tears as a look of both inquiry and anguish seemed to arise in her watery brown eyes.

Robin cupped her cheek. She could feel the warmth of his palm and the callouses on his fingers as he softly angled her chin upwards. She couldn't bare to look at him. She couldn't bare to look into the eyes that stripped her of her walls and peeled her layers away until the only thing left was the underlying anguish and ire and love that pieced together her heart—broken time and time again.

Regina stared at the flames. She stared at the flames that seemed to lick the tops of the bricked fireplace and consume the wood that lay beneath it.

"Regina, please look at me."

That voice—so soft yet so strong—caused her deep brown eyes to flit upwards to stare into those ocean eyes that made her walls crumble and caused her vulnerability to seep through the cracks in the stone of the walls that, prior to meeting Henry, encased her heart.

"I know for certain because we both know that we'd rather _die_ than lose any of our children. I can _promise_ you, Regina, that _nothing_ will happen to this family as long as I'm alive. I would go to the ends of the earth—I would walk through _hell_ if it meant I'd lose any of you."

Robin's voice was strong, steady, and filled with emotion. Enough that she knew they would both do everything in their power to protect their family.

Regina nodded solemnly, mirroring Robin's expression as they both stood from the couch and—as if they both thought with the same mind— began preparing for Hades' arrival. Holding Sara in her arms, the brunette quickly enchanted Robin's arrows with a quick wave of her hand over his quiver. What would seem to someone like standard arrows for hunting wild game, now possessed the ability to injure the man who was after their daughter.

She quickly looked to the clock on the wall in front of her. 5:15. Her eyes flit to the many windows that lined the front of the house, confusion masking her features. Where was Emma? She said should be there. Did something happen? _No_. Regina would not be pessimistic. The blonde would arrive at her house, they would put the cloaking spell on Sara, and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

.

.

.

With a single wave of Emma's hands, a bright light spread throughout the Charming's vintage apartment, the protection spell barring it from the magic of the man that was to enter their town.

As the light diminished, she turned towards her parents, urgency evident in her tone. "I have to go help put a cloaking spell on Sara. Please be careful, and call me if you need anything, okay?" Emma hugged both her parents, kissed her little brother's forehead, stepped back, and vanished in a puff of grey smoke with just a simple thought, appearing in Regina's living room just seconds after.

Regina's eyes immediately flit to her friend, a small smile etching itself onto her face as she saw the way Emma's eyes shined with hope instead of worry. Regina was glad Emma didn't show how worried she knew her friend was. Regina would surely break if she did otherwise.

The blonde rubbed her hands together in preparation. "Sorry I got here so late. I was putting the protection spell over my parent's place. You ready?"

"Ready. Do you want to do this down here? or..?"

"Her room is perfect. Lead the way," Emma smiled at her friend as the two soulmates led the blonde to their daughter's nursery. Regina turned to her friend, her hand on the banister. "Rae's in Henry's room with the boys."

Emma nodded in understanding before they approached the door to their the baby's nursery. With a simple turn of a doorknob, Regina stepped into the room, slowing laying the tired infant in her crib, the baby drifting off to sleep the minute her small body made contact with the soft cushioning of her crib.

The small group stepped out of the room, Regina closing the door softly, and stopping as both her and the blonde turned to put a protection spell over it. With the diminishing hues of red and white, the group heard Rae whispering kindly to the boys in the next room over.

Roland's small voice a light sound in the room. "Aunt Rae, is the bad man going to take my sister?"

They could hear the slight tremble of his voice. Tears pricked at the corners of Regina's eyes as she heard her six year old, worried and fearful for his sister's life. Regina would not stop until Hades was defeated. She would protect all of her children, even if that meant her death. Her hands tightened into fist in anger for the man who threatened her child's life.

"Oh Roland...your parents—your _family_ \- they are strong. A family as united as your's is? They can conquer _any_ villain. Your parents will try their _very_ best to keep your sister safe, I promise you," Rae replied, emotion dripping from her tone.

With a soft turn of the doorknob at Robin's hand, the triad stepped into Henry's room; small smiles donning their faces, so not to look worried, for Roland's sake.

"Mom," Henry stood and hugged the blonde, his arms encircling themselves around her shoulders. _God he was getting so tall_ , Emma told herself.

"Hey kid," Emma ruffled his hair, and threw him a smile, love illuminating her olive green eyes. The blonde then, with more of a motherly demeanor than usual, bent down at the knees to Roland's height, smiling brightly, hope shining in her eyes.

She extended her hand towards the boy, "Hello Roland."

He took in Emma's attire - a deep purple dress contrasting her skin tone, light makeup, and hair done up into a braided crown - and smiled as he shook her hand, a question in his warm brown eyes.

"Are you here to keep my sister from the bad man, Ms. Emma?"

"Yes I sure am, Roland. Regina and I are going to do a spell to keep her safe from the bad man. But we have to do it now if we want it to work."

"Can I hold my sister's hand while you and Mama do the spell? So she doesn't feel alone?"

Regina choked on a gasp at what Roland had just called her, grabbing at Robin's hand for comfort. Within seconds she spoke up, her eyes swimming with tears at the boy's request. "Of course you can, baby."

A watery smile appeared on her face as the young boy walked over to his half-sister's room across the hall, lightly opening the door so as not to wake her, and put his hand in between the thin white bars of her crib to take her small hand in his.

The second their hands made contact, her small fingers tightened around his. Roland smiled brightly, his smile reaching up to his eyes as he looked around the room, ecstatic. The rest of the group had followed Roland into the room, and were now dispersed around it; Henry and Rae by the window at the far corner of the room, opposite of the door, Robin and Regina closer to the door, and Emma on the other side of the crib, to Roland's left.

"Let's get started," Regina nodded toward her daughter in the crib, wiping her tears from under her eyes with the simple swipe of both of her fingers as she inhaled, and walked over to where her daughter lay, love shining in her eyes.

 _If they were to lose her tonight…_

Regina quickly blinked her thoughts away as she put her all into the spell that would cloak her daughter's magic, protecting her from Hades. She urged herself to not think of the worst. To—and it pained her to her even think of it—think like Snow. Optimistically. This spell _would_ work. They _would_ defeat Hades. He would _not_ take their daughter to the Underworld with him. _Everything would be fine_.

Emma crouched down to Roland's level before starting the spell. "Roland?"

"Yes, Ms. Emma?"

"So when your Mama and I do this spell, the only one's that will be able to see your sister are you, Henry, your Aunt Rae, your Mama, and your Papa so the bad man can't see her. You understand?"

Roland nodded, a look of understanding on his face. Emma ruffled his curls with a bright smile before she stood with her hands over the infant in the crib, "Good."

"You ready?" She saw Emma in her periphery, a blur of platinum blonde and purple, her hands now hovered over her daughter's small form. The brunette blinked away her thoughts, mirroring the blonde's actions, breathing a steady exhale as she nodded in confirmation.

 _._

 _._

 _._

The chilled night air billowed in the streets—sweeping leaves along pavement and asphalt roads—causing a low whistling to sound as it blew between the branches of thin trees. This acted as the only noise within the silence of the town save the cricket's chirps. The town's stillness fully pressed down on the malevolent man's shoulders, then. His eyes surveyed the town surrounded by the inky blackness that was the night sky—its street lights illuminating the slick roads.

 _Storybrooke._ The man smiled, devilishly.

He was finally here after months of attempts and difficulty. He had known of the prophecy from the moment the infant was conceived. In Camelot, Zelena made a deal with him that made his plans run much smoother, and he couldn't be more grateful for her assistance. Their agreement stated, that he would give her the spell she needed to transfer the infant from her mother's womb, and Zelena's heart was to be crushed into dust, opening the portal connecting Storybrooke to the Underworld; ultimately letting Hades through to take her sister's child. And Zelena had agreed. Claimed that they both got what they wanted. Zelena wanted to make Regina feel the pain she felt when their mother gave them up. What better way to do that then to take away her chance of carrying her daughter to term, and have Hades get rid of her all together?

Everything was going to to plan. Hades appeared where the town's creation began the moment he stepped through the portal that led to this strange world, the orange hue of the town line staring back at him before he made his way into the heart of the town.

He took in the colossal clock tower that took purchase on the town's main street before him. _8:15_.

His shoes crunched asphalt as he made his way down main street, following the pull of magic that led him down another street. He smirked. _She was close._

He vowed to himself that he would take that baby to the Underworld with him and make sure that prophecy never came true if it was the last thing he did.

.

.

.

Both women honed all of their magic, emotion clouding their minds, thinking of the one's they loved as they started the spell. They thought of what they could become if someone were to hurt one of their loved ones. That they could turn into someone's worst nightmare. That they could reign hell upon anyone who dare even _think_ about hurting the ones they loved. In seconds, a burst of light magic emanated from both their hands, a bright light blue incandescence flowing from Emma's hands and a red hued ray flowing from Regina's and onto the innocent child causing a violet aura to surround her.

Dark brown flit to olive green, a certain determination in both their eyes.

 _It's working_.

Regina looked down to her daughter and the violet aura that surrounded her as Emma and Regina's powers converged to perform the cloaking spell. In mere seconds, the aura diminished. The two women's hands retreated from above the infant, satisfaction shining in their eyes.

"So the spell—it's complete?" Robin's thick accented whisper sounded in the room.

"It is," Hope was evident in the brunette's voice as she made to grab her fiance's hand, smiling brightly.

"Very well then. Thank you Emma. Truly," Robin bowed his head slightly at the blonde in gratitude.

"No problem. I'm glad I could help. Anything to help keep this family safe. You guys are a part of my family—and family always helps one another." Emma looked down to the young boy who was still holding his sister's hand. "Right, little man?" She bought her fingers through his soft dark brown curls smiling at the sensation. He was getting so old.

Roland's bright smile lit up the room as he let go of his sister's small hand to hug the blonde, his tiny arms wrapping around her legs as he angled his head upward to look at her. Emma's hands came to rest on Roland's upper back. "Right." It was then that a small cry broke through the whispered silence within the nursery. Regina and Robin's heart's broke at the sound.

"It's seems like someone wants their Mama," Emma voiced as she stood next to the crib, picking up the infant with ease and settling her in her mother's arms. Her cries immediately descended to a series of small whimpers as the brunette rocked her back and forth, transferring her weight between both of her feet, soothing her with light shushes and murmurs of love.

"I think it's time for me to go, Roland. The bad man won't find your sister now. My job's done." Emma crouched to Roland's level, taking his hand in her own.

"You're _all_ protected, Roland," a smile erupted across her face.

"Thank you, Ms. Emma," the little boy smiled.

"You're very welcome. Now," Emma stood with her hands on her thighs as she did so, "I better be heading home. When the bad man comes to Storybrooke, you stay in here with Henry, Sara, and your Aunt Rae, okay? There's a protection spell on this room, and the house so the bad man can't get in."

"Okay, Ms. Emma," Roland nodded matter-a-factly as Robin stepped up, placing a hand on the boy's small back and ushering him toward where his sister stood with his soon-to-be step-son.

"I'm gonna go talk to your parents downstairs. You guys stay upstairs - you can go to your rooms, but when your parents, Henry, or Aunt Rae tell you, you come to this room, okay?"

Roland nodded profusely in understand, his dark brown curls shaking to and fro with each nod of his head.

"Good," she ruffled his curls, hugged Henry and Rae, and walked outside the room and into the hall with Robin and Regina, her heels clicking on the hardwood. Robin closed the door, turning to Emma and his fiance, with their now quiet daughter in her arms.

"So what's next?" Robin voice sounded in a whisper in the hallway.

"Well," Emma walked down the stairs as she spoke, "everything _valuable_ is protected. Right now it's just a matter of waiting—"

"So you just want us to _wait_ for Hades to come take our daughter?" Robin questioned, a bit of anger dripping from his tone as he whispered harshly. They were now downstairs in front of the front door.

Regina turned toward him, her back facing the blonde, blocking him from Emma's vision. She smoothed the hand she could over his shoulders and left arm. "Babe, calm down. You're going to wake the baby. Breathe, okay?"

He bowed his head, as his lover stepped back, rocking their baby in her arms, the boulder of what was at stake seemingly weighing down on Robin's shoulders. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just worried. I shouldn't have acted like an arse and snapped at you like that. You're just trying to help us."

"Hey it's okay. We're all worried," Emma set a hand on Robin's shoulder. "I just mean that we wait for any threatening signs and act from there. Just call me if you guys need anything. I'm a wave of a hand away," She could see the unease in the brunette's eyes.

Emma's eyes held determination and confidence as she looked at the couple. "I won't let _anything_ happen to your family. I _promise_ you guys that. Roland, Rae, and Sara—they're my family too. I won't let anything tear _our_ family apart, okay?"

Tears swam in whiskey eyes as the brunette took the blonde's hand in hers, squeezing tight. " _Thank you_ , Emma. For everything."

"Hey don't get all _emotional_ on me now, Mills. Repeat after me: _We're not losing anyone tonight_."

Regina sniffled, a smile donning her features as she nodded in agreement with the blonde, repeating her friend's words in refrain. " _We're not losing anyone tonight_."

"Good. _Now_ I'm gonna go. Don't hesitate to call me if you guys need anything."

With a wave of a perfectly manicured hand, the blonde woman vanished in a cloud of thick grey smoke.

.

.

.

 _Half an hour later…_

He was darkness. He was the sound of screams that pierced man-made silence. He was the pitch black night that surrounded him. He was the ominous air that resonated over the small town. He was death itself. Plain as day but dark as night.

Tendrils of darkness seemed to hail from him as his shoes bore a crunched sound with each step he took on the asphalt towards the pull of magic he felt pulse in his veins, in his very being before it stopped abruptly. Like a string had been cut that connected the two.

 _What the hell?_

Hades grasped for the pull, grasped for anything resembling the unmarred bit of magic that was originally stringing him along toward the infant. Nothing surfaced.

Confusion masked his features, as anger resonated deep within him, before he realized.

 _A cloaking spell_. This was ludicrous. Hades let out a deep laugh resonating deep within him and sounding in between the heavy silence that blanketed itself around him.

 _They think they can fool me. Imbeciles._

His icy stare flit around the street corner to land on a street sign above him. _Mifflin Street_.

Hades smirked devilishly. _What a great place to start_.

He gathered all of the magic inside him and began blasting each and every house he came upon with counter-protection spells. The first few houses shone white as his magic blasted their outer surface. Nothing. He noticed a house larger than all the others on the street—a large white mansion. Another blast, and the mansion he hit possessed a purple aura. A smirk overtook his features, his eyes growing dark with mischief and devilment.

Stalking towards the mansion, blue fireballs appearing in each gloved hand, he vowed that he would find and capture the child who was prophesized to be his undoing, and he wouldn't let anything or anyone stop him.

.

.

.

The mansion shook, pictures falling from the cream-colored walls as light bulbs flickered as a sheen of violet light came over the outside of the house.

Regina's eyes widened. " _No_."

Hades was there for their daughter. The protection spell was taken off of the house.

She immediately turned to her fiance, holding their daughter out carefully so he could take her. "Robin. Take the baby to the nursery." Regina laid Sara in her father's arms. Robin's arms instantly wrapped around the infant protectively.

"Are you out of your mind?! I'm not leaving you here to battle Hades alone! I'll give her to Rae!" The baby woke from Robin's yells, wailing.

Regina's voice quivered with emotion, "You're her father, Robin. I know you'll keep her safe. Light magic is the only thing that can defeat Hades, and I'm the only one here who has any!"

"And you don't think Rae will do the same?! Regina, we _have_ to trust that Rae will keep our daughter safe! You _aren't_ doing this alone!" Robin stalked over to the stairs yelling for his sister, as Regina focused on honing her light magic in preparation for Hades' arrival.

Rae emerged from the hallway, to show herself at the top of the carpeted stairs, a mix of determination and fear shining in her eyes. At the look in Robin's eyes, she descended down the stairs with haste.

"Rae, I need you to take the baby," Robin asked, laying his daughter in her Aunt's arms. He spoke with quick words. "Take the baby, and the boys and go into the nursery. And no matter _what_ happens, do _not_ come out. Both Emma and Regina protected the room with magic. You all should be safe as long as you are in there."

The light brown haired young woman nodded in understanding, ascending the stairs as fast as she could with the newborn wailing in her arms.

In mere seconds, Robin was at Regina's side, bow at the ready, set to kill the man who was planning to take their child with him to the Underworld. He would have to go through the both of them in order to get to their daughter, and if he laid a hand on his children or his fiancee, Robin would send an arrow through his cold, dead, dark heart.

.

.

.

The cream-colored colossal front door of the mansion shook vigorously with the pressure of strong magic, before it swung in on itself ramming into the wall adjacent to it. And then their was silence.

Regina and Robin stood their ground—two balls of fire appeared in Regina's hands, and Robin knocked his arrow, aiming it at the door. Both reflecting the same expression. Fury.

A blonde man with a face resembling death, entered the mansion, a look of amusement in his cold blue eyes as his mouth tipped up into a smirk.

Hades spoke his voice lined with sarcasm,"Well hello there. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm—"

Regina response was quick as she cut him off—her voice made of steel. "We know who you are and what you want. You are _not_ taking our daughter."

Hades looked to the couple with acknowledging eyes, "You two know why I'm here. Where is she? Tell me now, and no one will get hurt."

"Like we'd ever tell the likes of _you_ ," Robin spat at the man before letting an arrow fly right into his chest just inches away from his heart.

Hades chuckled as he extinguished the fireball in his right hand.

"You really think—" Hades pulled the arrow out of his chest swiftly. No blood. No flinch of pain. Absolutely effortless.

He continued, "—that your pesky _wooden sticks_ can injure me? From the feel of it I'm guessing those were enchanted with dark magic," Hades' amused gaze slid to Regina, "weren't they.. _Your Majesty?_ "

Hades dropped the wooden arrow to the floor with finality. "I am immortal. No dark magic can hurt me. And from the looks of it, that is the only thing you two have. And I'm afraid that won't do much to me, will it? But I'm sure it can hurt your archer here, correct? I told you... that if you handed over your daughter, no one would get hurt. But—you see, Regina—you have disobeyed me. And you _will_ suffer the consequences."

An ominous smile appeared on Hades's face.

A pang of vexation shot through Regina as a memory of a time years ago clawed its way her into her brain as soon as Hades said those words. The same words her mother repeated time and time again when Regina was just a child.

 _You have disobeyed me Regina, and you will suffer the consequences._

Hades' gloved hand procured a blue fireball in an instant, outstretching his hand towards Robin. In the blink of an eye, the ball of fire had traveled across the space between them nearing the man she loved the most—

"NO!"

In mere seconds, Regina's hands came out in front of her towards the fireball he had thrown towards Robin, shining brightly in a large orb of light. She blasted the fireball, and it quickly diminished into ash.

Regina smirked, her eyebrows arching in pure satisfaction.

In an instant, light came rapidly from her palms and towards Hades. A painful groan left the blonde man, his dark heart receiving the brunt of Regina's power.

Regina stopped to speak, the light orbs in her hands now dimming to a light shimmer.

"Don't you _ever_ go near him again. Or what I just did to you? Oh," Regina scoffed darkly as she let her eyes trail over the man who was now sprawled out on the floor, "you'll be the focus of all of that power _tenfold_."

A smile plastered itself on Hades's face, his eyes cold as he sat up and stood with ease. He let out a low exhale feigning exhaustion as he leant up against the wall behind him, folding his hands in front of him, ostentatiously.

"I applaud your efforts, Regina. But I'm afraid you are a mix of both light and dark. And that just _can't_ hurt me." Hades stepped away from the wall, then, arrogantly walking closer to the woman in front of him.

"I _can_ feel your daughter's presence though," Hades closed his eyes feeling over the room, sending his magic over the room like tendrils of darkness only seen by his own mind, "maybe through a.. cloaking spell?" A light amusing smile appeared on his face as his cold eyes opened to meet wet whiskey brown eyes that were now open wide in a mix of shock and dread.

Regina and Robin's world's stopped, crumbling into ash and stone around them.

 _No._ _No. NO. NO._

But before either of them could breath a word, Hades waved a gloved hand, freezing Robin and Regina where they stood, and ridding them of their weapons— Regina her magic, and Robin his bow and quiver— a bright smile spreading across Hades' face.

"Oh, _yes_!"

With another wave of his gloved hands and an exhaled breath, a blaze of blue fire quickly erupted in his arms and instantly smothered to reveal a small pink bundle.

 _Sara_.

Her daughter's piercing wail struck the silence, each cry another crack in Regina's heart.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to sob.

She longed to do both until her throat burned. She wanted to light the man that held her daughter on fire. Set him ablaze and watch him burn alive and turn into ash.

Regina stared at her beautiful baby girl.

So innocent.

So fragile.

She stared, longingly hoping that somehow something would save them; save their daughter. _Anything_.

Hades rocked the crying infant, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Face it, you two. What made you think you could beat me?"

 _Please. Please. Please._

Hades' cold eyes flit between the two parents, acknowledging there teary bloodshot eyes, rolling his own with an annoyed sigh. "Your daughter is prophesized to be my undoing, you two know this. So," a light pause, "to make sure that never happens, I'm taking this little one"— Hades looked to the infant in his arms, who surprisingly enough ceased her cries— "to the Underworld with me."

"Let go of my sister!" A deep strong voice sounded from the top of the stairs.

Henry.

 _No_. _No_. _No_.

"Let go of my sister, and take me instead." _NO!_

Regina wanted to scream till her lungs and voice gave out.

She wanted to rip Hades' throat out and leave him to die.

"I have the heart of the Truest Believer, I was born out of True Love, I am the Author. That _has_ to mean something to you. I can promise you that my parents won't let my sister anywhere near you after this, and you can take me to The Underworld instead, alright?"

Henry descended the steps cautiously, nearing the blonde man holding his sister.

Hades' brows rose at the proposition. "Sounds promising. _But_ ," Hades faced the two parents, still and unmoving, " _they_ need to agree to this."

Hades waved a swift hand over the two lovers, allowing them to speak for mere seconds.

Yells left them both; mixes between cries and screams. "HENRY, NO!"

The blonde man's hand swept over the two parents once more, quickly muting them once more.

"Well, it seems that's all the answer I need. I rather like doing the opposite of what people tell me to. Their anguish just _fascinates_ me." Hades' eyes lit up with mischief. "Can you get over here, kid?"

"Let my sister go first, and then I'll come with you."

"I was only _asking_ to be _nice_ ," Hades spoke through gritted teeth before he lifted a hand into the air to transport the three of them to The Underworld in a cloud of blue smoke.

In an instant, a bright light engulfed the triad, blinding the occupance of the room for only a few seconds before the light dimmed to reveal Hades' shocked face as he looked to the infant in his arms _who was glowing_.

"What is she doing to me!?" Hades yelled in pain, frozen in his place, not able to let go of the infant. Regina's eyes flit over the scene before her. Dark tendrils of magic left Hades and simply floated away into the air around them, vanishing. Sara just increased in brightness.

Everyone's breath caught in their throats as they realized.

 _She's stripping him of his magic_.

Instant relief washed over the two parents as they could feel Hades's freezing spell reversing. The minute Regina was granted back the ability to move she lunged for Hades, taking Sara from his arms and freezing him in place.

She checked over her baby girl to find no injuries or remnants of dark magic. Regina breathed a sigh of relief, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

The brunette's whiskey eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with red as she looked to the villain before her, her voice but a whisper in the already silent room as she realized..

""A female child born from two parents that carry the truest of love, and are soulmates will defeat Hades: Lord of the Underworld"."

In his frozen state, Hades' icy blue eyes widened at Regina's words before a cloud of grey smoke appeared behind Hades and a yell of "Henry move!" sounded throughout the room. In an instant Henry had stepped back and a sword was shoved into Hades' back to the hilt, pulled back out, and dropped to the floor with finality. Hades gave a pained yell before dropping to the floor, his knees barking on impact. Blood poured from his wounds.

 _Excalibur_. Emma had summoned the darkness from all of the previous Dark Ones and transferred it into the sword. Hades' eyes widened as tendrils of darkness fled his body and engulfed him in its inky depths, his blood and body vanishing and the darkness along with it.

In a matter of seconds a bright aura of magic swept over the occupance of the living room, quickly dimming to reveal Emma - now rid of her Dark One garb - donned in her infamous red leather jacket, jeans, and black boots. Her hair was back to normal, from the platinum blonde bun, to her golden blonde curls.

The portal connecting The Underworld and Storybrooke was closed— forever.

.

.

.

Silence blanketed itself over the room before Emma spoke, "Is everyone okay?"

Regina brought Sara closer to her chest, replying, "We're fine."

Both mother's eyes quickly slid to Henry, who was standing mere feet from where Hades' body vanished, a shocked look in his warm brown eyes.

"Are _you_ okay, Henry?" Regina brought a hand to Henry's shoulder, squeezing it in a mix of concern and motherly affection. Henry nodded towards his brunette Mother. "I'm fine, Mom."

Henry's gaze shifted toward his blonde mother. "How did you know that would work?"

Emma let a small smile paint itself on her face as she replied. "I didn't. Lucky guess? All I know, is that it's good to be back," Emma grabbed at her red leather jacket, pulling it tighter around her torso.

Her olive green eyes flit to Henry's hazel ones. "Hey I gotta call Killian and your grandparents; tell them everything's okay. I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me."

Emma nodded at Regina in confirmation, before disappearing into the kitchen, her phone in her hand.

Regina's voice trembled, emotion evident in her voice as she stared at her oldest son.

" _Oh_ ," As best she could with Sara in the crook of her left arm, Regina put a hand to the nape of his neck and — bringing him closer to her— pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I adore how brave you've become, but _please_ never do that again. You might just give me a heart attack."

This caused a low chuckle to rise from her son as Regina stepped back to readjust Sara in her arms, fixing the pink blanket the infant was wrapped up in. "Sorry, Mom."

"It's okay, my boy." Robin's eyes rimmed with red as he took a step towards Henry and pulled him into a tight embrace, grabbing fistfuls of the red and blue checkered fabric of his step-son's long sleeve, clutching it. As if afraid Hades could still take him right then and there.

"I applaud your courage and bravery, but don't _ever_ scare your Mother and I like that again, you hear me?" His voice shook with the onset of tears, as a wet chuckle came from the archer.

"Okay." Henry welcomed his step-father's, wrapping his arms around the man until he pulled back, his eyes filling with tears, threatening to flow onto his cheeks.

"God I don't know what we would have done if we lost the both of you," Robin turned to face his fiancee, cradling their daughter in her arms. Robin clasped Henry's shoulder in an instant and brought him closer to his side— an act of fatherly love.

Henry angled his head towards the man with his arm fixed around him, a mix of surprise and love in his eyes. "You really care about me that much?"

Robin looked down at Henry, at first a chuckle coming from him that quickly died down as he looked at Henry's eyes. Earnest and solemn. Serious.

Robin's eyes widened in shock. "Henry. Of _course_ I care about you. I love you like a son. I care for you the same way I care about Roland and Sara. You are my children, and I will protect you with all that I have. Never doubt that, alright?"

Henry nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. "It's just..after my Dad died, I never really had a real father figure until you. You have been a real father to me, Robin. And I couldn't be more grateful."

Robin's smile brightened the room, ridding it of it's ominous feeling and replacing it with joy. "Well of course lad," he clapped Henry on the shoulder. "I hope you know I would never try to replace your father. I will always be here to show you right from wrong," Robin slid his glance towards Regina, "and also how to treat women with respect and love. Knowing us men, and our clumsy nature, they are the finest we could ever come across in our lifetime. You want to find a woman who knows you better than you know yourself, who loves you for you. And above all else, who makes you want to be the best version of yourself, each and every day."

Ocean blue irises never left whiskey brown ones as their owner spoke these words.

Regina smiled sweetly, before a small voice pierced the growing silence between the group downstairs.

"Mama! Papa! Henry!" The little boy's small feet hastened down the carpet-clad steps, as Rae appeared at the top of the steps, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "Sara's okay, I take it? And Henry as well? I tried to stop him but—"

"They are both perfectly fine. Thank you so much, Rae — for your help." Regina greeted Rae with a bright smile, joy and relief illuminating her warm brown eyes.

Rae followed her nephew down the steps at a much more normal pace, trailing a hand down the wooden banister. Her smile making its way onto her fair face, her blue eyes shining with love for her new family. She gave a simple nod towards the brunette before she made her way to her brother's side; Roland had run into his father's legs and hoisted him into the air, Roland breaking off into a fit of giggles. Emma came from the kitchen, love shining in her olive green eyes.

In a matter of minutes David, Killian, and Snow —with Neal in her arms— walked through the front door, a mix of concern and relief reflecting across their faces as they took in the sight of everyone in the room - unharmed and smiling.

David encircled Emma and Henry in a tight embrace, cradling Emma's head in the process; like he always did.

"Emma told us what happened. Is everyone okay? Is Sara okay?" Snow asked. Snow and David's eyes slid to Regina and Robin with concern as David pulled back from the hug.

Regina looked down at her daughter in her arms with a warm smile. "She's perfect. Is Neal alright?"

"Completely unharmed - nothing touched him," David answered, cradling Neal's head as he leant into Snow's touch.

"Good," A warm smile broke out onto her face.

"God it feels so weird to say that, usually we're chasing after some monster or villain."

"Aye, love. So is the darkness destroyed for good?"

Regina nodded in answer, a smile of relief on her face, sharing a look with Emma as she continually rocked from side to side holding her sleeping daughter protectively in her arms.

 _Thank you_ , _Emma_.

The blonde looked to the floor, a smile painted across her face as she waved a hand towards Regina seeming to say: No problem. Her eyes shined green at the sudden recognition from the woman opposite her.

"Well I'm glad, Your Majesty. We now can actually focus on the future ahead of us; on getting happy endings," Hook intertwined his hand with Emma's beside him, and smiled. "A reformed villain such as yourself should be happy - think about your future with your little one having arrived. God knows you've worked hard for it—"

" _We've_ worked hard for it. I see how much you've changed, Killian. Not just for Emma but for yourself. And that's where it's starts; you have to learn to forgive yourself — it's one of the hardest things anyone can do. And you've done it."

Killian's stare flit to the floor, a certain light in his eyes, as his smile grew. "Yes, I suppose so. Thank you, Regina."

Regina nodded in answer, looking to the scene before her with watery eyes—Emma now had both arms around Henry and Killian's shoulders, and Robin was tickling Roland to the point of unending laughter; Rae beside them smiling. The brunette's gaze flit down to the sleeping baby in her arms, true love in her eyes. She couldn't ask for anything better in this world to have than what was right there with her.

Her family.

Regina stepped closer to Robin and Roland and felt her lover's hand at the small of her back - warm and strong. She leant into his touch, closing her eyes as she let her son's small voice overtake her senses.

"So the bad man's gone, Mama? Sara's okay?" Regina opened her eyes, and faced her son, cupping his cheek and pressing a soft kiss to it with a smile.

"She sure is."

Roland's smile was a rush of warmth through her. As she looked into her son's eyes she couldn't help the tears that sprung at the corners of them.

"Mama? Why are you crying?"

"Oh honey no, these are happy tears," she said. Regina let out a wet laugh as she sniffled and looked to her lover before she spoke again.

Her eyes instinctively flit to the ocean blue irises mere inches away from her own.

She noticed that Robin's eyes radiated a warm tenderness across the space between them. With a hopeful smile on his face, his eyes lit with joy.

"I'm just very happy."

Regina's watery red-rimmed eyes drifted downwards to gaze at the small infant that lay in her arms.

Her daughter's breath came out in small tufts of air with each simple rise and fall of her chest.

 _She was so beautiful_.

A slight ripple of awareness shot through her and settled warm in her core.

 _She'd never been promised her future_.

Everytime she had happiness it was ripped out from under her by fate's hands, taking pieces of her heart in the process.

But she had to go through all the awful and dreadful things she went through - she had to have all of these bad things happen to her because if none of that had happened, she wouldn't have the family she had now.

Her mother killing Daniel, having to marry Leopold at her Mother's hand, Robin leaving Storybrooke with "Marian", Zelena transferring her baby girl from her own womb and into her sister's pulsed in a vivid memory at the back of mind.

These things made her stronger - more resilient, and she wouldn't be _Regina Mills_ without her resilience. It's what made her, her.

 _Mother. Monarch. Survivor._

This was her future. _They_ were her future - the Charming's, Emma, Henry, Robin, Roland, and Rae - and she would do anything to make sure it wasn't ripped from her grip again.

 _It seems villains_ did _get happy endings._

She grabs for Robin's hand beside her - he's set Roland down, who is having a deep conversation with his Aunt about how good the food at Granny's Diner is, that maybe they could all go there for breakfast when they wake up the next morning.

She feels the reassuring squeeze of Robin's calloused hand in her own, and the way he fiddles with her engagement ring that makes Regina laugh sweetly, as she holds her daughter in the crook of her right arm, protectively.

They both stare at their daughter; at the way her chest rises and falls with each breath, the way she seems to stretch out in her Mother's arms before sleep takes her into its peaceful waiting arms, and she realizes that this isn't the end.

This is just the beginning.

 **A/N: So there you have it! The final installment of "Twist of Fate"! First of all, I want to thank everyone who has helped me with this fic; helped plan out plot points, who has ever offered to beta read (you guys know you are and I love each and every one of you, you are godsends). Second of all, this is my very first fanfiction, and I'm still astonished as to how many people have reviewed, favorited and followed! It seriously blows my mind. Hopefully you guys really enjoyed this story and I'm excited to see what I write next! I would love to hear your thoughts on this last chapter, so please don't hesitate to review!**

 **If by any chance you guys want an epilogue to this story (because i'm still debating whether to write one or not) please do not hesitate to tell me if that's something you guys would like.**

 **Disclaimer: Props to Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis for these amazing characters. Rae is the only character that is mine (I hoped you like her, and would love to hear your thoughts on her, by the way!) Oh! And if you saw the Season 6 Finale please please please do not hesitate to PM me! I would love to hear your thoughts so we can fangirl together!**


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